Former US President Donald Trump leaves the courthouse after a jury found him guilty of all 34 crimes in a criminal trial in the New York State Supreme Court in New York on May 30, 2024.
Justin Lane | Via Reuters
A judge on Friday rejected a motion to dismiss the New York money-stashing case against New York's president-elect Donald Trump and set Trump's sentencing for January 10 – less than two weeks before he is sworn in for a second term in the White House.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan also said in a written order that he was not inclined to sentence Trump to prison in the case and that he could impose a sentence of unconditional release. This would mean no suspension or penalty for the president-elect.
Merchan also said Trump has the option to appear in person or virtually at next week's sentencing.
In his ruling, the judge rejected arguments by Trump's lawyers that the case should be dismissed because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last summer that found presidents enjoy presumed immunity from prosecution for official acts while serving in the White House, and because on the supremacy of the Constitution Clause.
Trump's lawyers also argued that the Manhattan district attorney's office targeted him for political reasons and unlawfully disclosed information about the investigation.
In May, Trump was convicted at trial of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with a secret $130,000 payment his then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
“The Court finds that presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for a sitting president does not extend to a president-elect,” Merchan wrote in his Friday ruling.
The judge also wrote: “Although under the law the Court cannot make any decision on the sentence before giving the parties and defendants an opportunity to be heard, “At this point, it seems appropriate to report the Court's inclination to impose no prison sentence, a sentence approved in the guilty verdict but one that the People admit they no longer see as a practical recommendation,” Merchan wrote on Friday.
The judge also wrote that “a sentence of unconditional release appears to be the most viable solution to provide finality and allow the defendant to exercise his appeal options.”
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement: “Today's order issued by the deeply conflicted Judge Merchan of the Manhattan District Attorney is a direct violation of the Supreme Court's immunity decision and other well-established case law.”
“This unlawful case should never have been filed, and the Constitution requires it to be dismissed immediately,” Cheung said. “President Trump must be allowed to continue the presidential transition and carry out his vital duties as president, unhindered by the remnants of this or any remnants of the witch hunt. There should be no verdict and President Trump will continue to fight these frauds until everyone is dead.”
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