By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump will be sentenced on Jan. 10 in a criminal case in which he was convicted of charges involving hush money paid to a porn star, but is unlikely to face prison time or other sentences, a judge said Friday.
Justice Juan Merchan's decision means Trump will be required to appear in court just 10 days before his January inauguration. 20 – an unprecedented situation in US history. Before Trump, no US president – former or sitting – had been charged or convicted of a crime.
The judge said Trump, 78, could appear at his sentencing either personally or physically.
He wrote that he was not inclined to sentence Trump to prison, and that a sentence of “unconditional release” — meaning no custody, fines, or probation — “is the most effective solution.”
The case stems from a $130,000 payment former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen made to former film star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an affair she allegedly had with Trump, which he denies. A jury in May found Trump guilty of falsifying records to conceal payments before the 2016 election.
The imposition of the sentence will open the way for Trump to appeal. Merchan acknowledged in his ruling that Trump has made it clear he intends to appeal.
In a post on his Twitter account earlier Saturday, Trump said he never falsified business records.
“It's a hoax, perpetrated by a corrupt judge just doing the work of the Biden/Harris Injustice Department,” Trump wrote. “He created a case where there was none.”
Merchan announced his judicial plan by denying Trump's motion to dismiss the case because of his presidential election victory. Trump's defense attorneys have argued that if the case hangs over him during his presidency it will limit his ability to govern.
Merchan rejected that argument, writing that setting aside the judge's ruling would “undermine the Rule of Law in immeasurable ways.”
“The defendant's status as President-elect does not require such a drastic and 'rare' request for the (court's) authority to grant the (dismissal) motion,” Merchan wrote in the decision.
Merchan also rejected Trump's argument in court on December 3 stating that the dismissal was justified because “his social and financial contributions to this city and the Nation are too numerous to count.”
While acknowledging Trump's service as president, the judge said Trump's public statements praising the justice system were also an important factor in determining Trump's character.
Merchan criticized what he called Trump's “relentless and unwarranted attacks” against the integrity of the criminal justice system, and noted that he was found guilty of 10 counts of contempt during the trial for repeatedly violating an order barring out-of-court statements about witnesses. and others.
“The defendant has broadcast on social media and other forums his disrespect for judges, judges, grand juries and the justice system as a whole,” Merchan wrote.
“The defendant's character and history in accordance with the Constitution and the Third Section of the government must be analyzed,” the judge said, referring to the court. “That way, there's no weight in his favor.”
'CRITICAL CORRECTION'
A Manhattan jury in May found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide Daniels' payment. He pleaded not guilty and called the case an attempt by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the Democratic prosecutor who brought the charges, to hurt his 2024 campaign.
Trump's sentencing was scheduled for July 11, 2024, but has been pushed back several times. On Thursday, Merchan said Trump's request in August to postpone the sentencing until after the election showed he agreed to be sentenced during the transition period.
“Any claim by the Defendant that circumstances have changed because of the Defendant's victory in the Presidential election, while valid, is frivolous,” Merchan said.
Bragg did not object to the delay in sentencing until after the election. The seller in September pushed it back to November 26.
After Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election, the judge delayed the ruling indefinitely to determine next steps.
Bragg's office has argued that there are short-term “extreme remedies” to overturn the judge's conviction that could ease Trump's concerns about being distracted by a criminal case while he serves as president, such as delaying the sentencing until after Trump leaves the White House in 2029. .
Merchan wrote Thursday that he found the alternative “less desirable” than condemning Trump before his inauguration.
QUALIFICATIONS OF THE PRESIDENT
Trump on Dec. 16 lost a separate bid to throw out the hush money judgment because of the US Supreme Court's July 1 decision that presidents cannot be prosecuted for their official acts, and evidence of their official acts cannot be presented in criminal cases. human behavior.
In rejecting Trump's motion to dismiss him, Merchan said the prosecutor's “personal actions of falsifying business records do not pose a threat to the authority and duty of the executive branch.”
Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years in prison, but imprisonment is not required. Before his election victory, legal experts said it was impossible for Trump to be imprisoned because of his lack of criminal history and age.
Trump was indicted in three other states and criminal cases in 2023: one involving classified documents he kept after leaving office and two others involving his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
He pleaded not guilty to all three charges. The Justice Department dismissed both cases after Trump's victory.
Trump's criminal trial in Georgia stemmed from allegations stemming from his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss in that state.