The judge presiding over the hush money case against President-elect Donald Trump on Friday denied his bid to dismiss the case and said he’ll sentence him on Jan. 10, ten days before his inauguration as the 47th president.
Judge Juan Merchan said Trump can appear in person or virtually for the sentencing, and that he won’t order Trump jailed.
“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,” the judge wrote in his ruling.
Merchan said 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.” Such a sentence would allow the conviction to stand but without Trump being fined, locked up or having to serve probation.
The judge denied Trump’s request to vacate the verdict.
Here, 12 jurors unanimously found Defendant guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records with the intent to defraud, which included an intent to commit or conceal a conspiracy to promote a presidential election by unlawful means,” he wrote.
Trump was convicted in May of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 presidential election.
“It was the premediated and continuous deception by the leader of the free world that is the gravamen of this offense,” Merchan wrote.
“To vacate this verdict on the grounds that the charges are insufficiently serious given the position Defendant once held, and is about to assume again, would constitute a disproportionate result and cause immeasurable damage to the citizenry’s confidence in the Rule of Law,” the judge added.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung called the ruling “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.”
“There should be no sentencing, and President Trump will continue fighting against these hoaxes until they are all dead,” he added.
It’s unclear whether Trump plans to appear for the sentencing, either in person or virtually. The judge left open the possibility of sentencing him when his term in office is done — an alternative that had been suggested by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.
Merchan said he found that option “less desirable than imposing sentence prior to January 20, 2025. The reasons are obvious. However, if the Court is unable to impose sentence before Defendant takes his oath of office, then this may become the only viable option.”
The DA’s office declined to comment.
Merchan denied another bid to dismiss the case last month, when Trump argued he was already protected by presidential immunity given his status as president-elect.
Trump was initially scheduled to be sentenced in the case back in July, but the proceeding was delayed multiple times at the request of Trump’s lawyers, first because of a Supreme Court ruling that created a new standard for presidential immunity and later because of Trump’s election win.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
