The delay of Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial sentencing to after the presidential election has frustrated legal experts who say it's plain "wrong."
Taking to X, former ethics czar Norm Eisen compared Judge Juan Merchan, the New York City judge who opted to push Trump's hearing to Nov. 26, to Judge Tanya Chutkan, the federal judge overseeing Trump's election interference case in Washington D.C.
"Judge Merchan just stalled Trump's sentencing because of politics; yesterday, Judge Chutkan declared she would ignore politics. Merchan is wrong and Chutkan correct," wrote Eisen. "I was in his courtroom every day for the trial, and he's a great judge. He just got this wrong."
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"Trump has already benefitted from extraordinary special treatment," Eisen continued. "As Chutkan noted from the bench yesterday, other defendants don't get special treatment. If no one is above the law, then Trump shouldn't be either."
MSNBC legal analyst Katie Phang agreed with Eisen's opinion that Merchan had made a misstep.
"Merchan should have sentenced Trump on 9/18 and then allowed him to remain out of custody while his appeals are pending," Phang wrote. "This delay only serves to embolden Trump and fuels the narrative that there was something afoul in this case."
But Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance said that if Merchan hadn't delayed the trial, another court likely would have.
"He will force Trump to appear in court the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, with no further argument for delay available, instead of letting another court control the schedule," she said.
Another former federal prosecutor, Glenn Kirschner, said he believed the delay made it more likely that Trump would face a stricter sentence.
"Once Trump is no longer a candidate for office AND has lost the election, it will make it a million times easier for Judge Merchan to sentence him to prison," he said. "Fight on, friends."
