A New York judge has set the sentencing date for President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money case just ten days before his January 20 inauguration.
Judge Juan Merchan announced on Friday that Trump, the first former U.S. president ever convicted of a crime, could appear either in person or virtually at his January 10 sentencing.
Merchan indicated that he was unlikely to impose jail time, leaning instead towards an unconditional discharge.
“It seems proper at this juncture to make known the Court’s inclination to not impose any sentence of incarceration,” Merchan stated, adding that prosecutors also did not see a jail term as a “practicable recommendation.”
Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The payment, made during his 2016 presidential campaign, was intended to prevent Daniels from disclosing an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.
In his 18-page decision, Merchan rejected several motions from Trump’s lawyers to overturn the conviction, including arguments invoking the Supreme Court’s decision last year granting broad immunity to former presidents for official acts carried out in office.
While the judge dismissed this argument, he acknowledged that Trump would regain immunity upon taking the presidential oath.
“Finding no legal impediment to sentencing and recognizing that Presidential immunity will likely attach once Defendant takes his Oath of Office, it is incumbent upon this Court to set this matter down for imposition of sentence prior to January 20, 2025,” Merchan said..
The case marks one of several legal battles involving Trump. Federal cases related to his alleged role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election and the removal of classified documents after leaving office were dropped due to a Justice Department policy prohibiting the prosecution of sitting presidents.
Also, Trump faces racketeering charges in Georgia over efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state, though that case is expected to stall while he serves in the White House.
