Ralph Nader, the Green Party presidential candidate in 2000, urged Judge Juan Marchand to sentence former President Trump to prison, calling him the “last best hope” for saving the republic.
On Monday, Nader shared a link to a letter about X, which makes a case to the judge for why prison time is essential.
“Given that the Supreme Court has blocked any accountability for Trump in Trump v. United States, Judge Marchan is our last hope of protecting the Republic from Donald Trump’s subversion,” Nader posted.
The letter, dated June 28, 2024, was signed by Nader and attorney Bruce Fein. The letter begins by pointing to July 11, 2024, and emphasizing its significance in terms of the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law.
NY v. Trump: Judge Marchan partially lifts gag order against ex-president
Ralph Nader wrote a letter to Judge Juan Marchan urging him to sentence former President Donald Trump to prison. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“The future of the United States will depend in large part on the sentence of Donald J. Trump,” the lawyers wrote. “Mr. Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts under New York State law and was convicted of two violations of constitutionally unimpeachable ‘gag orders’ designed to protect participants in the trial from death threats, harassment, defamation and stalking.”
Nader and Fain reminded Marchan that the law gives them the discretion to sentence Trump to up to four years in prison based on, among other things, the circumstances of the felony, adding that the appropriate prison sentence is “clear and based solely on the character of the offender.”
“Trump espouses an absolute executive doctrine indistinguishable from that of French King Louis XIV and threatens a counter-revolution to the American War of Independence and the U.S. Constitution,” Nader and Fain write. “On July 23, 2019, Trump declared, ‘Then I have Article II of the Constitution, which gives me the right to do whatever I want as president.’ On December 4, 2022, Trump crowed that whenever he declared an election to have been fraudulent, it would justify ‘the abolition … of the Constitution.'”
New York appeals court rejects Trump’s request to lift gag order
Trump’s sentence is scheduled for July 11, 2024. (Associated Press)
They continued to urge Trump to receive a prison sentence, arguing with Marchan that Trump had not denied that “MAGA thugs” had been threatening civil war on social media even after he was convicted of 34 felony counts.
“Just as to a hammer everything is a nail, to Trump every legal and political setback is a corrupt witch hunt aimed at destroying America,” Nader and Fein wrote.
They then focused on Trump’s ties with Russian President Putin, claiming that, like the Russian leader, Trump “lusts for dictatorial power.”
Trump lawyers ask for gag order lifted on store owner after trial, before presidential debate
“Your task is to ensure that the sentence is commensurate with the offender’s character, including the clear and imminent danger to the peaceful transition of presidential power,” Nader and Fain wrote. “Set a standard that any prudent and conscientious judge would be able to compensate with a prison sentence that is at least a significant portion of the statutory maximum of four years.”
Nader and the Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital for this story.
The former president and presumptive Republican presidential candidate was convicted in May on all 34 first-degree charges of falsifying business records in a six-week trial that stemmed from charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Click here to get the FOX News app
President Trump moved Monday to overturn the conviction in the Manhattan case. U.S. Supreme Court The court ruled that former presidents have substantial immunity from liability for official acts committed while in office.
Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for July 11, just four days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where he is expected to be formally nominated as the GOP’s 2024 presidential candidate.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
