Yale Law Professor Jed Rubenfeld analyzed the possible legal options former President Donald Trump could use to prevent Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case from interfering in the 2024 election.
In his recently published podcast, Straight Down the Middle, Rubenfeld delves into the Trump verdict and the various appeal routes that Trump could pursue to counter the left’s lawfare. The most apparent path is for Trump to contest the conviction through the New York Appeals Court system and, eventually, the U.S. Supreme Court. This process, however, could span several years. During this time, Trump might be incarcerated and potentially lose the election, leading to significant and irreversible consequences, known as irreparable harm, as Rubenfeld points out.
No, Rahul, it would not. Merely denying a TRO would not be a final adjudication on the merits, especially in this kind of case, where a federal court might choose not to reach the merits at all. https://t.co/RFcmWhbyhM
— Jed Rubenfeld (@Jed_Rubenfeld) June 7, 2024
There is a better, quicker way for Trump to prevent the case from interfering in the election, where the verdict wouldn’t stand. Rubenfeld said a possible plan is for Trump and his legal team to sue Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and other state actors in federal court and ask for an emergency temporary restraining order against Judge Juan Merchan to prevent him from entering a judgment of guilt.
“You’re not a convicted felon because of a jury verdict. You’re not convicted unless the judge enters a judgment of guilt against you. The judge still has the power, as I told you before, to throw out that verdict and enter a judgment of acquittal. You are not convicted until the judge enters that judgment of guilt,” Rubenfeld said. (ROOKE: Biden And Trump Tied In National Poll, But Guess Who Everyone Thinks Their Neighbor Is Voting For?)
“So what would this federal case be about? In this federal action, Trump would sue District Attorney Bragg and other state actors and ask the judge, the federal judge, for an emergency temporary restraining order halting Judge Merchan from entering that judgment of guilt until the federal courts have had an opportunity to review and rule on the serious constitutional arguments that exist here,” he said.
Rubenfeld called the case against Trump a “very bad look for this country,” adding that it’s “an especially bad look when the folks bring in the case and the judge deciding it are members of the opposing political party. And it’s an even worse look when the crime is so unclear that the state is hiding the ball about what the actual charges are right up through the trial and indeed into the trial.”
He is right. What happened to Trump is political lawfare to interfere in the 2024 election. Biden and his cronies are trying to jail a former president because he is polling better than Biden and threatening to remove him from the White House. Trump should sue. He’ll win, and his supporters can watch as the left cries over their failed attempt to take Trump down.