Trump urges Supreme Court to intervene in New York ruling
The former president called on the Supreme Court to intervene in the New York gag spending case ahead of the Republican convention.
"The day of my sentencing, even if I did nothing wrong, happens to be 4 days before the Republican National Convention," former President Donald Trump wrote on June 3 on Truth Social, questioning the fairness of the case.
He accused Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney leading the investigation, of being "backed by radical leftist billionaire" George Soros and campaigning on the message "I'm going to catch Trump." He also criticized Justice Juan Merchan as a "local interim judge appointed by Democrats."
The former president said both prosecutors and judges in the case had serious conflicts of interest, so they could not "make decisions that would determine the future of the country."
A jury in New York last week found former President Trump guilty on 34 charges of falsifying business records to pay for adverse information during his 2016 campaign. New York District Judge Juan Merchan will sentence Trump on July 11. Observers say he is unlikely to serve time in prison, as he has no criminal record and the offense is not violent.
Earlier, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, also called on the Supreme Court to "intervene" and overturn the jury's guilty verdict in New York. "The verdict will be reversed. There is no need to be cynical. However, this needs more time to proceed," he commented in an interview with Fox on June 2.
Johnson added that he had spoken with several U.S. Supreme Court justices and knew they also shared the view that Trump was a victim in an "unfair and politically motivated" case. He also accused the current U.S. justice system of being "heavily prejudiced" against conservative Republican politicians.
Donald Trump's legal team vowed to appeal as soon as Judge Merchan sentenced him. However, the case needs to go through the appeals courts in New York before there is a chance to "knock" on the door of the US Supreme Court, while the presidential election day is only about 5 months away.
The Supreme Court can only hear appeals if the case has elements of constitutional or federal law, but observers say the 34 charges have nothing to do with federal law
6 of the 9 Supreme Court justices are conservatives, three are liberal. Of the 6 conservative justices, three were nominated and confirmed under Trump.
Biden calls Trump a 'convicted felon'
During a campaign fundraiser, President Joe Biden suggested that Trump was a convicted former president who was running for president of the United States.
US President Joe Biden on June 4 called former US president Donald Trump a "convicted criminal". Trump is expected to pose a greater threat to the United States if he is elected for another term as president. Reuters reported that it was also Biden's harshest attack on Trump's legal matter.
On May 30, Trump became the first former U.S. president to be found criminally charged, when a jury in a New York City court found him guilty of all 34 counts in the gagging of porn star Stormy Daniels.
For the first time in American history, a former president who is a convicted criminal is running for president," Biden told a small group of donors in Greenwich, Connecticut, on June 4. "It's troubling, but more damaging is the all-out assault that Donald Trump is waging on the American justice system," Biden added.
The president stressed the "recklessness and danger" of Trump and his allies saying the U.S. justice system was corrupted when Trump's team failed to get the results it wanted. According to Biden campaign officials, the president has so far mostly avoided mentioning Trump's sentence, in order to avoid being seen as politicizing it.
During a fundraiser in Greenwich, Biden also called Trump "deranged" and unable to accept being defeated. Biden pointed to Trump's earlier statements about terminating the U.S. Constitution and that Trump wants to be dictator on his first day in office if elected to a second term.
Throughout the campaign, Trump made it clear that he was running for revenge. Now after his criminal conviction, it's clear that he's anxious to defend his freedom," Biden said. On Fox News, a Trump campaign spokesman called it "shameful," with the Biden campaign calling Trump a "convicted criminal
