Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.
By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.
Please enter a valid email address.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
With the sentencing of Donald Trump on Friday, the final verdict on the New York criminal trial of the president-elect is in. The verdict is not the one that led to no jail or probation for the incoming president. Acting Justice Juan Merchan has brought down the gavel on the New York legal system as a whole.
Advertisement
Once considered the premier legal system in the country, figures like New York Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Justices Arthur F. Engoron and Juan Merchan have caused the system to be weaponized for political purposes. Trump will walk away from this trial and into the White House in less than two weeks, but the New York system will walk into infamy after this day.
The case has long been denounced by objective legal observers, including intense Trump critics, as a legal absurdity. Even CNN’s senior legal analyst Elie Honig denounced the case as legally flawed and unprecedented while Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., simply called it total “b—s–t.”
DONALD TRUMP SENTENCED WITH NO PENALTY IN NEW YORK CRIMINAL TRIAL, AS JUDGE WISHES HIM ‘GODSPEED’ IN 2ND TERM
It is a case based on a non-crime. Bragg took a long-dead misdemeanor and zapped it back into life with a novel and unfounded theory. By using federal violations that were never charged, let alone tried, Bragg turned a misdemeanor into dozens of felonies and essentially tried Trump for federal offenses.
Merchan not only allowed those charges to be brought to trial but then added layers of reversible errors in the effort to bag Trump at any cost. For that, he was lionized by the liberal media and many New Yorkers. However, Trump still managed to pull in 3.6 million New York votes, or 42.7%, in the 2024 election. After all of the lawfare and every advantage (including a heavily biased media and a larger war chest), Vice President Kamala Harris lost hundreds of thousands of votes in 2024 compared to Joe Biden just four years earlier.
Advertisement
Many polls showed that the public saw the Manhattan criminal case for what it was: raw lawfare targeting a leading political opponent. The election itself felt like the largest verdict in history as citizens rejected the political, legal and media establishments in one of our nation’s most historic elections.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
The New York court system will now have a chance to redeem itself, but few are holding their breath. The appellate court has still not ruled on an appeal of Attorney General Lettia James’s equally absurd civil lawsuit against Trump. Despite judges expressing skepticism over Engoron’s use of a law to impose a grotesque $455 million in fines and interest, we are still waiting for a decision.
Most are waiting for this criminal case to escape the vortex of the New York court system. With this appeal, this peddler’s wagon of reversible errors will finally pull up in front of the Supreme Court itself.
With its ruling on Thursday night, the setting for a decision could not be better for Trump. The Supreme Court has again demonstrated that it has shown restraint and independence in these cases. In response to the ruling, Trump struck the perfect note Thursday night and declined to criticize the Court, stating, “This is a long way from finished and I respect the court’s opinion.”
Advertisement
The ultimate penalty on Friday morning from Judge Merchan reflects the lack of seriousness in the case. It was more inflated than the Goodyear blimp, pumped up by hot rage and rhetoric. The sentence was the pinprick that showed the massive void within this case.
The verdict is in. The New York legal system has rendered it against itself.
The 2025 Vermont Principals’ Association spring sports playoff pairings are out! Here’s a look at the first round and the byes for Franklin County high schools. The dates for the first round and the byes have been established, but the times for all the games have not. Please visit ScorebookLive.com for more information.
D1 Softball
No. 1 BFA-St. Albans Comets have a bye in the first round and will play the winner of No. 8 South Burlington/No. 9 North Country on June 6 at 4:30 p.m.
Advertisement
No. 7 Missisquoi Valley Union hosts No. 10 Champlain Valley Union on June 4.
D2 Softball
No. 5 Enosburg hosts No. 12 Spaulding on June 4.
D3 Softball
No. 2 BFA-Fairfax hosts the No.7 Fair Haven/10 Paine Mountain winner on June 6.
Advertisement
D4 Softball
No. 4 Blue Mountain hosts No. 5 Richford on June 5.
Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.
By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.
Please enter a valid email address.
As murder defendant Karen Read rounds the corner on the halfway point of her second trial, the crippling weight of unpaid legal bills could be alleviated by an unlikely source: online crowdfunding.
Months before her retrial was set to begin, Read told Vanity Fair she owes her defense team over $5 million in legal fees – a total that is likely growing with the addition of two new attorneys.
Advertisement
“Other than feeling wrongfully persecuted and prosecuted, I feel incredibly violated,” Read said in the Vanity Fair interview, adding, “If I can get the entire truth of this case out in the public forum, that, to me, is priceless.”
KAREN READ JUDGE GRANTS DEFENSE VIDEO ACCESS, ALLOWS DOG BITE EXPERTS – WITH LIMITS
Karen Read listens to witness Jessica Hyde during her murder trial in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.(Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Read pleaded not guilty and is facing the possibility of life in prison for the alleged murder of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe. She is accused of ramming O’Keefe with her vehicle during a drunken argument before leaving him to freeze to death in the front yard of a fellow police officer’s home in the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2022.
Read’s defense team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Advertisement
Last year, Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a verdict, setting the stage for a costly redo for Read.
KAREN READ APPEALS DOUBLE JEOPARDY RULING TO US SUPREME COURT
Karen Read, center, and her legal team arrive at Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, on April 25, 2025.(David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)
Since her first trial, Read’s defense team has introduced two new players, with attorneys Robert Alessi and Victoria George joining Alan Jackson, David Yannetti and Elizabeth Little.
To help subsidize her expenses, Read reportedly sold her Mansfield home for $810,000 in November 2024 and is living off of her 401(k) retirement fund after losing her jobs as a Bentley University finance professor and Fidelity Investments equities analyst following her arrest.
In addition to turning to her equity, numerous crowdfunding sites have been kick-started to help Read chip away at her legal fees – a common tactic used in high-profile court cases where bills could rise into the seven figures.
Advertisement
MEDICAL EXAMINER DETAILS SKULL FRACTURES IN KAREN READ MURDER TRIAL TESTIMONY
Karen Read smiles as defense attorney David Yannetti speaks to reporters in front of Norfolk Superior Court after the judge declared a mistrial, July 1, 2024 in Dedham, Massachusetts.(AP Photo/Steven Senne)
“There are many examples of high-profile defendants paying out-of-pocket for their defense,” criminal defense attorney Andrew Stoltmann told Fox News Digital. “O.J. Simpson is the classic example. But it is surprising when high-profile, non-wealthy individuals pay out-of-pocket for their entire defense.”
A Justice for Karen Read legal defense fund, organized by Werksman Jackson & Quinn LLP, is closing in on $1 million raised, with donations continuing to pour in as Read’s second trial wraps up its fourth week.
“Keep fighting,” one anonymous donor wrote. “I believe in Karen’s innocence and grateful she has an amazing team defending her.”
KAREN READ TRIAL: CRIME LAB EXPERT TESTIFIES BLOOD EVIDENCE WAS NEVER TESTED
Advertisement
Werksman Jackson & Quinn did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Additionally, the Free Karen Read Movement has launched a website selling sweatshirts, T-shirts and other apparel in support of Read, while advocating for her innocence.
Earlier this month, supporters hosted a ticketed dinner party in a nearby town to raise money for Read. Seats were priced at $100 and included a live DJ, raffle and cash bar.
GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB
Karen Read talks with her attorneys, Robert Alessi and David Yannetti, right, during her trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Tuesday, May 6, 2025.(Matt Stone/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)
The event organizers did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Advertisement
While turning to public methods as a way to bankroll legal funds increases, experts caution the charity could come with strings attached.
“A third-party funding source is both a blessing and a curse,” Stoltmann said. “They can provide necessary funds to put on a top-flight defense, but they also tend to have a disproportionate amount of sway with the attorneys since the bills are being paid by the third party. It’s an ethical quagmire for the attorneys on cases.”
KAREN READ’S DEFENSE OPENS DOOR FOR SPECIAL PROSECUTOR TO BRING IN NEW EVIDENCE: COURT DOCS
Read’s defense team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on whether she plans to accept the funds.
In light of the hefty price tag for legal representation, it is not uncommon for attorneys to take on high-profile cases for a reduced rate in exchange for publicity.
Advertisement
SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER
“Many criminal defense lawyers will take a case pro bono or at a severely discounted rate if it’s a high-profile case and there’s a great deal of news and television coverage,” Stoltmann told Fox News Digital. “This often leads to a tsunami of new clients coming in the door for years after the trial takes place. This might be what’s happening in Karen Read’s case.”
While Read’s fate remains in the hands of the jury, her chance to maintain her freedom – and clear her name – continues to come at an incredibly high cost.
“I’m not backing down now,” Read told Vanity Fair. “As scary as a potential conviction is, I will go to jail for something I didn’t do before I plea out. I will never give them that win.”
Boston police have arrested a 44-year-old Boston man following a drug bust in Dorchester
Bodio Hutchinson has been charged with:
Distribution of Class B (Crack Cocaine)
Possession with Intent to Distribute Class B
Possession with Intent to Distribute Class B (Subsequent Offense)
Police conducted a drug interdiction operation back on Tuesday after an increasing number of complaints from the community about open drug use and distribution in the area of 6 Lyndhurst Street.
Surveillance teams saw people loitering in front of the address and witnessed behavior consistent with street-level drug transactions.
Advertisement
Police deployed an undercover officer, who was giving documented buy money, and went up to a suspect, identified as Hutchinson, and retrieved a plastic bag believed to be crack cocaine.
Officers took Hutchinson into custody. While doing so, officers noticed a plastic bag containing four smaller baggies of crack cocaine was located next to where he had been sitting, along with his personal belongings.
During a subsequent search, officers recovered an additional 26 baggies from the suspect’s back pocket, as well as a medium-sized plastic bag of crack cocaine concealed inside a cigarette box. Officers also seized an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency totaling $119, which included the previously marked buy money.
Hutchinson is expected to be arraigned in Dorchester District Court at an unspecified date.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Advertisement
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
