Trump Could Be 'Sent to Jail Immediately' by Judge Merchan—Legal Analyst

Donald Trump could be imprisoned immediately after his upcoming sentencing, law professor and former Bush administration official John Yoo said.

Judge Juan Merchan is due to sentence Trump in September in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. Yoo pointed out that Merchan has ruled against Trump many times and could jail him as the sentencing hearing.

Woo was appearing on America's Newsroom on Fox News, where host Bill Hemmer called Trump's sentencing "the story nobody's talking about" and a "surprise that'll hit in September."

Yoo replied: "Bill, it's excellent you noticed how the calendar is working this way. Judge Merchan has ruled against Donald Trump every opportunity he's had."

Donald Trump at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 14, 2024, in New York City. Trump is due to be sentenced on September 18. Donald Trump at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 14, 2024, in New York City. Trump is due to be sentenced on September 18. Curtis Means/Getty Images

Yoo, a law professor at the University of California in Berkeley, said that Merchan had already moved the sentencing date closer to the beginning of mail-in voting.

"He could have exercised his discretion here to change the sentencing date. But instead, he actually moved it closer to the beginning of absentee voting in my home state of Pennsylvania."

"Could you imagine what would happen if Judge Merchan sentenced Donald Trump to jail time, even though he's a first time nonviolent offender?" Yoo asked.

"What if Judge Merchan even went crazier and said, Donald Trump doesn't even get to stay out of jail while his case is on appeal? He has the power to actually order Donald Trump sent to jail immediately, although I expect he wouldn't.

"But this judge has used his discretion every time to try to force this trial in a political direction that will have an effect on the election."

Yoo was speaker at the 2024 National Conservatism Conference in Washington, D.C., and he is the author of Defender-in-Chief: Trump's Fight for Presidential Power.

It was Trump's lawyers who requested a delay in sentencing. They had sought to overturn the conviction, based on the Supreme Court's broad new formula for presidential immunity.

Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, faced trial in New York City on 34 counts of falsifying business records over hush money payments made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels.

On May 30, a jury convicted him on all 34 counts.

Newsweek sought email comment from Trump's attorney on Friday.

On July 1, the Supreme Court delivered its presidential immunity ruling. Later that day, Trump's lawyers claimed in a legal brief to Merchan that some of Trump's actions occurred while he was president, and that evidence should have been excluded from the jury.

They also claimed that his social media posts as president should have been excluded. They wrote that prosecutors had placed "highly prejudicial emphasis on official-acts evidence," including meetings at the Oval Office and Trump's social media posts.

Merchan, who was due to sentence Trump on July 11, wrote in response that he'll rule on the defense immunity application on September 6, and postponed Trump's sentencing until September 18.