Trump's shock claim about Alvin Bragg, judge rules he'll be sentenced

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

75% : Trump will appear at a court hearing just only a week-and-a half before his January 20 inauguration - an unprecedented scenario in U.S. history.
53% : Merchan acknowledged in his ruling that Trump has made clear he intends to appeal.
46% : The imposition of the sentence would pave the way for Trump to appeal.
40% : The judge said Trump, 78, may appear at his sentencing either in person or virtually.
39% : In the fiery statement posted online, Trump claimed the legal proceedings were all part of a politically motivated effort to discredit him.
37% : He accused the judge of fabricating facts and manipulating the law, comparing the proceedings to other legal challenges he has faced in New York, which he described as 'judicial and prosecutorial witch hunts.'Beyond his personal grievances, Trump painted a dire picture of New York's legal and economic climate claiming the state's legal system was driving businesses away, costing millions of jobs and billions in tax revenue.
35% : Merchan wrote on Thursday he found that alternative 'less desirable' than sentencing Trump before the inauguration.
34% : Trump framed the case as part of a broader effort to undermine his political ambitions, calling it a 'rigged' attempt to target a political opponent.
33% : He wrote that he was not inclined to sentence Trump to jail, and that a sentence of 'unconditional discharge' - meaning no custody, monetary fine, or probation - would be 'the most viable solution.'The case stemmed from a $130,000 payment Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump, who denies it.
29% : In that vein, it does not weigh in his favor.'A Manhattan jury in May found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up the payment to Daniels.
29% : After Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 election, the judge delayed the sentencing indefinitely to figure out next steps.
27% : Before Trump, no U.S. president - former or sitting - had been charged with or convicted of a crime.
27% : In other posts to Truth Social over the weekend Trump said he never falsified business records.
27% : Trump was charged in three other state and federal criminal cases in 2023: one involving classified documents he kept after leaving office and two others involving his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
26% : On Friday, the judge said that Trump was unlikely to face jail time or other penalties in the criminal case in which he was convicted on charges involving hush money paid to a porn star.
25% : A jury in May found Trump guilty of falsifying records to mask the payment prior to the 2016 election.
25% : Trump on December 16 lost a separate bid to toss the hush money conviction in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's July 1 decision that presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted over their official actions, and that evidence of their official actions cannot be presented in criminal cases over personal conduct.
23% : 'D.A. Alvin Bragg never wanted to bring this lawless case against me,' Trump alleged.
23% : He further decried what he described as an 'unconstitutional gag order,' which he claimed prevents him from discussing the judge's alleged 'highly disqualifying conflicts of interest.'Trump insisted the trial lacked merit, asserting that 'virtually every legal scholar and pundit says THERE IS NO (ZERO!)
22% : Before his election victory, legal experts said it was unlikely Trump would be locked up due to his lack of a criminal history and advanced age.
18% : 'It was even more so what the corrupt and totally conflicted political hack judge did, and is doing, on this sham trial,' Trump wrote.
17% : READ MORE: Furious Donald Trump reacts to judge ruling he will be sentencedDonald Trump made a shock claim that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was 'forced' to prosecute him by the Biden Administration just days after a judge ruled that his sentencing will take place ten days before his inauguration.
15% : Daniels' testimony in the trial last year went on for two days and included salacious details of her alleged affair with the president-electLawyers for Trump argue the case involving porn star Stormy Daniels should be thrown outTrump's sentencing was initially scheduled for July 11, 2024, but has been pushed back several times.
14% : 'It is a fake, made up charge by a corrupt judge who is just doing the work of the Biden/Harris Injustice Department,' Trump wrote. '
14% : Bragg's office had argued there were measures short of the 'extreme remedy' of overturning the jury's verdict that could assuage Trump's concerns about being distracted by a criminal case while serving as president, such as delaying the sentence until after Trump leaves the White House in 2029.
12% : Merchan rejected that argument, writing that setting aside the jury's verdict would 'undermine the Rule of Law in immeasurable ways.''Defendant's status as President-elect does not require the drastic and 'rare' application of (the court's) authority to grant the (dismissal) motion,' Merchan wrote in the decision.Merchan also rejected Trump's argument in a December 3 court filing that dismissal was warranted because his 'civic and financial contributions to this city and the Nation are too numerous to count.'Trump's defense lawyers had argued that having the case hang over him during his presidency would impede his ability to governTrump accused DA Bragg and the judge overseeing his trial, Juan Merchan, of orchestrating a 'lawless' case against him under pressure from the Biden administrationWhile acknowledging Trump's service as president, the judge said Trump's public statements excoriating the justice system were also a factor for him in determining how Trump's character would factor into the decision.
11% : Trump accused DA Bragg and the judge overseeing his trial, Juan Merchan, of orchestrating a 'lawless' case against him under pressure from the Biden administration.
11% : Trump accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the judge overseeing his trial of orchestrating a 'lawless' case against him under pressure from the Biden administrationJudge Juan M. Merchan said that Trump was unlikely to face jail time or other penalties in the criminal case in which he was convicted on charges involving hush money paid to a porn starThe case stemmed from a $130,000 payment Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump, who denies it'It's all rigged, in this case against a political opponent -- ME!'
3% : [New York District Attorney Prosecutor] for his behavior, and what he did.'Trump wrote about himself in the third person as he suggested that Bragg was forced into action by the Department of Justice, stating that the 'Biden/Harris DOJ forced Bragg to concoct anything to embarrass Trump.'Donald Trump made a shock claim that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was 'forced' to prosecute him by the Biden AdministrationIn the fiery statement posted online, Trump claimed the legal proceedings were all part of a politically motivated effort to discredit himTrump suggested that Bragg was forced into action by the Department of Justice, stating that the 'Biden/Harris DOJ forced Bragg to concoct anything to embarrass Trump.'

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