Two of the most high-profile criminal defendants in the country were expected to have blockbuster court appearances that could have had massive political ramifications in the final months of the 2024 election — but neither will experience them anymore.
This week marked a turning point in the legal sagas of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s son Hunter.
Judge Juan Merchan made the decision Friday to postpone Trump’s hush money sentencing hearing in Manhattan, which was originally scheduled for Sept. 18, until three weeks after the election.
One day prior, Judge Tanya Chutkan set new deadlines in Trump’s Jan. 6 case, which had been dormant for months while an appeal was pending before the Supreme Court. Chutkan’s long-awaited schedule implied that no hearings would take place until after the election.
Meanwhile, the same day Chutkan issued her order, Hunter Biden appeared in court to begin jury selection in his tax trial. But the first son stunned the federal courtroom by announcing that he would plead guilty to all nine charges he was facing and accept whatever sentence the judge decided to impose on him.
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Mike Davis, founder of the Article III Project and a Trump supporter, said a Trump prison sentence would have solidified the former president’s election victory and that Merchan’s move appeared to be part of a “tactical retreat” by judges and prosecutors in Trump’s cases.
“The Democrats know that if they put Trump in prison before the election, they are going to turn him into Nelson Mandela, and he’s going to win in a landslide,” Davis told the Washington Examiner.
Many in left-leaning circles criticized the decision, blaming Republicans for it and lamenting what they perceived as a lack of accountability for Trump.
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