Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the courthouse after a jury found him guilty of all 34 felony counts in his criminal trial at New York State Supreme Court in New York on May 30, 2024.
Justin Lane | Via Reuters
A judge on Friday rejected a request that he dismiss the New York criminal hush money case against President-elect Donald Trump and set Trump’s sentencing for Jan. 10 — less than two weeks before he is due to be sworn in for a second term in the White House.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan, in a written order, also said he is not inclined to sentence Trump to prison in the case, and that he might impose a sentence of unconditional discharge. That would mean no probation or fine for the president-elect.
Merchan also said that Trump had the option of appearing in person or virtually for the sentencing next week.
The judge in his ruling rejected arguments by Trump’s lawyers that the case should be dismissed due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last summer that said presidents had presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts while serving in the White House, and because of the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
Trump’s attorneys also argued that the Manhattan District Attorney’s office targeted him because of political motivations, and unlawfully leaked information about its investigation.
Trump was convicted at trial in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with a $130,000 hush money payment his then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
“This Court finds that Presidential immunity from criminal process for a sitting president does not extend to a President-elect,” Merchan wrote in his ruling Friday.
The judge also wrote, “While this Court as a matter of law must not make any determination on sentencing prior to giving the parties and Defendants, opportunity to be heard, it seems proper at this juncture to make known the Court’s inclination to not impose any sentence of incarceration, a sentence authorized by the conviction but one the People concede they no longer view as a practicable recommendation,” Merchan wrote Friday.
The judge also wrote that “a sentence of an unconditional discharge appears to be the most viable solution to ensure finality and allow Defendant to pursue his appellate options.”
Trump’s spokesman Steven Cheung in a statement said, “Today’s order by the deeply conflicted, Acting Justice Merchan in the Manhattan DA Witch Hunt is a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s Immunity decision and other longstanding jurisprudence.”
“This lawless case should have never been brought and the Constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed,” Cheung said. “President Trump must be allowed to continue the Presidential Transition process and to execute the vital duties of the presidency, unobstructed by the remains of this or any remnants of the Witch Hunts. There should be no sentencing, and President Trump will continue fighting against these hoaxes until they are all dead.”
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