President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money case was heard by a New York judge on Friday. The judge stated he was not inclined to impose jail time and set sentencing for 10 days prior to Trump’s January 20 inauguration.
Trump, the first past president to be found guilty of a felony, can attend his sentence on January 10 in person or online, according to Judge Juan Merchan.
Merchan denied several arguments from Trump’s attorneys to have the conviction overturned, upholding the New York jury’s verdict in an 18-page ruling.
According to the court, he was leaning toward an unconditional discharge, which would imply that the real estate magnate would not be subject to any restrictions, rather than imprisonment.
Despite the sentence, Trump would become a convicted felon and take office.
Even before he won the November presidential election, legal experts did not anticipate Merchan locking up the 78-year-old Trump, who could have been imprisoned for up to four years.
The judge stated that prosecutors did not think a jail term was a “practicable recommendation,” adding that it seemed appropriate at this point to express the Court’s preference to not impose any sentence of incarceration.
Trump, who is expected to lodge an appeal that could potentially delay his sentencing, denounced the decision late Friday.
On his platform Truth Social, he remarked, “This illegitimate political attack is nothing but a Rigged Charade.”
The order was “knowingly unlawful, goes against our Constitution and, if allowed to stand, would be the end of the Presidency as we know it,” Trump continued, calling Merchan a “radical partisan.”
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On the day of the 2016 election, Trump paid porn star Stormy Daniels hush money to prevent her from disclosing an alleged 2006 sexual encounter. In May, he was found guilty in New York on 34 charges of manipulating business documents to conceal this payment.
On a number of grounds, including the Supreme Court’s historic decision last year that past US presidents enjoy broad immunity from prosecution for a variety of official acts carried out while in office, Trump’s lawyers had attempted to have the case dismissed.
Merchan dismissed that claim, but he pointed out that once Trump takes the oath of office, he will not be subject to prosecution.
“It is incumbent upon this Court to set this matter down for imposition of sentence prior to January 20, 2025, as there is no legal obstacle to sentencing and it is recognized that Presidential immunity will likely attach once Defendant takes his Oath of Office,” the judge stated.
Merchan’s decision to sentence the former president was criticized by Trump spokesman Steven Cheung, who described it as a “direct violation of the Supreme Court’s Immunity decision and other longstanding jurisprudence.”
In a statement, Cheung added, “The Constitution requires that this lawless case be immediately dismissed because it should never have been brought.”
“The remains of this or any remnants of the Witch Hunts must not interfere with President Trump’s ability to carry out the essential responsibilities of the presidency and to continue the Presidential Transition process,” he stated.
Cheung went on to say, “President Trump will keep fighting against these hoaxes until they are all dead, and there should be no sentencing.”
Additionally, special counsel Jack Smith filed two federal cases against Trump, but both were dismissed due to the Justice Department’s long-standing rule against prosecuting a sitting president.
Trump was charged in those cases with taking a significant number of top-secret papers after leaving the White House and plotting to reverse the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden.
Trump is also accused with racketeering in Georgia for allegedly trying to tamper with the results of the 2020 election in the southern state, but that case is probably going to be put on hold while he is in the White House.
