U.S. Judge Juan Merchan upheld President-elect Donald Trump’s felony conviction in the hush money case, and set his sentencing for Jan. 10, ten days before the inauguration.
Trump will not be incarcerated, fined, or face probation and has been allowed to appear in person or virtually for the sentencing, per the court ruling.
Merchan wrote in his ruling that an unconditional discharge is the “most viable solution to ensure finality and allow Defendant to pursue his appellate options.”
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said, “It was a smart move by Judge Merchan to announce in advance that he is gong to impose no punishment, and hold the proceeding remotely, because that undermines any effort by Trump’s team to argue in federal court that sentencing imposes some major burden.”
ABC reported that Trump’s legal team will likely try to stop next week’s sentencing. Trump’s lawyers intend to ask for an intermediate New York appellate court to prevent the sentencing hearing from moving forward.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung, described Merchan’s ruling as “a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s Immunity decision and other longstanding jurisprudence.”
He added, “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.”
Trump was initially scheduled to be sentenced in July 2024, but his attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bov asked that it be delayed, requesting presidential immunity in the case, per Deseret News. However Merchan ruled that immunity does not extend to president-elect status.
In the ruling, Merchan wrote, “President-elect immunity does not exist” and “the vast majority of the defendant’s claims involve objections that this Court and others have repeatedly rejected.”