In today’s newsletter, Antonia Hitchens reports from Trumpworld. But, first, the current state of the President-elect’s hush-money case. Plus:
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Eric Lach
Staff writer
Everyone believes that Judge Juan Merchan should do the right thing in regard to Donald Trump’s hush-money case. But no one can agree on what exactly the right thing is. In late May, a jury found Trump guilty of thirty-four felony counts in Merchan’s courtroom in Manhattan. In the intervening months, there was a national election, which Trump won. Merchan now has the unenviable task of deciding what to do with a President-elect’s criminal conviction. Trump’s lawyers say that Merchan should toss out the case. The Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, disagrees. But what is the appropriate legal remedy for a President who once paid illegal hush money to an adult-film actress? Earlier today, Merchan postponed Trump’s sentencing indefinitely, and ordered both sides in the case to bring him more arguments for and against dropping the thing entirely.
I’m not a lawyer, just a reporter who was in the courtroom during the course of the trial. After Merchan’s ruling today, someone texted me asking whether I thought the case was “dead.” I don’t know. I do know that, back when the case was first being considered in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, under Bragg’s predecessor, Cyrus Vance, Jr., it was known as the “zombie case,” for its tendency to come back to life after periods of dormancy. When it was first filed, many legal scholars found problems with it, and had doubts about its chances of success. In getting to a trial, and then to a conviction, it went further than many thought possible. This case is a weird one, and we’re in uncharted legal and constitutional waters. For now, it’s undead.
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Administration Hopefuls Descend on Mar-a-Lago
Antonia Hitchens reports from Palm Beach, Florida, where Elon Musk, Sebastian Gorka, Steve Bannon, Sylvester Stallone, and scores of others have arrived to jockey for proximity to the President-elect. “It’s ‘Game of Thrones’ meets ‘Hunger Games,’ ” a person involved in the Administration’s transition tells Hitchens. “It’s, like, a moral obligation to make their lives a living hell until they give Trump what he wants,” he says, referring to members of the Senate who will vote on potential Cabinet picks. He adds, “I respect the Constitution, and advise and consent, but at the end of the day we live in extraordinary times.” Read the story »
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P.S. “The Producers,” directed by Mel Brooks and starring Gene Wilder, premièred on this day in 1967—and went on to win an Oscar for its screenplay. Michael Schulman interviewed Brooks in 2021, when his autobiography was published. Brooks’s best advice? “You say yes, and you never do it.” 🎬
Hannah Jocelyn contributed to this edition.
