A New York judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s hush money case scheduled his sentencing for January 10, just 10 days before his inauguration, and indicated he is unlikely to impose jail time. Judge Juan Merchan stated that Trump, the first former president to be convicted of a crime, can attend the sentencing either in person or virtually.
In an 18-page ruling, Judge Juan Merchan upheld Donald Trump’s conviction by a New York jury, rejecting multiple motions from Trump’s legal team to have the verdict dismissed. The judge indicated he was inclined to opt for an unconditional discharge at sentencing, meaning Trump would face no additional conditions or restrictions.
The sentence would still result in Trump entering the White House as a convicted felon. At 78 years old, Trump faced a potential prison term of up to four years, but legal experts had long anticipated that Judge Merchan would not sentence the former president to jail, even before his victory in the November election.
“It seems appropriate at this point to express the Court’s inclination not to impose any sentence of incarceration,” Judge Merchan stated, adding that prosecutors also did not view a jail term as a “practicable recommendation.” Trump, who is likely to file an appeal that could delay his sentencing, criticized the decision late Friday. “This illegitimate political attack is nothing but a Rigged Charade,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Calling Merchan a “radical partisan,” Trump added that 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 was convicted in May in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election, aimed at preventing her from disclosing an alleged 2006 sexual encounter. His attorneys had attempted to have the case dismissed on several grounds, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling last year, which granted former presidents broad immunity from prosecution for official acts carried out while in office.
Judge Merchan rejected the argument regarding presidential immunity but acknowledged that Trump would be immune from prosecution once sworn in as president. “Finding no legal impediment to sentencing and recognizing that presidential immunity will likely apply once the defendant takes his Oath of Office, it is necessary for the Court to schedule the sentencing prior to January 20, 2025,” the judge stated.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung criticized Judge Merchan’s decision to set sentencing for the former president, calling it a “direct violation of the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling and other established legal precedents.”
Cheung described the case as “lawless” and argued it should never have been brought, asserting that the Constitution demands its immediate dismissal. “President Trump must be allowed to continue the Presidential Transition process and fulfill the vital duties of the presidency, free from interference by this or any remnants of the Witch Hunts,” he stated. “There should be no sentencing, and President Trump will continue fighting against these hoaxes until they are all defeated,” Cheung added.
