NEW YORK (AP) — In an unusual development, a judge on Friday set sentencing for President-elect Donald Trump in his hush-money criminal case on Jan. 10, just over a week before the president is scheduled to return to the White House. However, he indicated that he would not pass a sentence. Don’t go to jail.
Nevertheless, the development raises the possibility that Trump will become the first president to serve with a felony conviction.
In a written decision, Manhattan Judge Juan M. Marchan, who presided over Mr. Trump’s trial, ordered the former president and president-elect to receive a so-called free trial, which ends the case with a conviction but no prison time. He suggested that he be sentenced to conditional release. fine or suspended sentence. Trump can virtually appear in court to hand down a sentence if he wishes.
Marchan has rejected Trump’s pressure to dismiss the verdict and throw out the case citing presidential immunity, saying his only goal is to “put an end to this” because a second term is imminent. wrote that it was in the interests of justice.
He said Trump’s ability to govern is “unencumbered” by the lawsuit and that he has other interests, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s July ruling on presidential immunity and “all men are equal and no one is above the law.” He said that he is trying to strike a balance with the public’s expectations. The importance of respecting jury verdicts.
“This court is not at all satisfied that the first factor outweighs the other factors at this stage of the proceeding,” Machan wrote in his 18-page decision.
Trump slammed Marchand on his platform Truth Social on Friday, saying if the judge’s ruling is allowed to stand, “it will be the end of the presidency as we know it.” I wrote it.
He reiterated his claim that the incident was an “illegal political attack” perpetuated by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, D-N.C., and “nothing more than a fraudulent display.” He did not elaborate on possible next legal action.
Bragg’s office declined to comment on Marchand’s sentence.
Former Manhattan Judge Diane Kiesel said the ruling cannot be appealed under New York state law, but Trump could still try to appeal. In any case, he will not be able to pardon himself, although he can appeal the conviction, but cannot take that step until the verdict is handed down. Trump’s case was heard in state court, but presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes.
Trump will be sworn in on January 20 as the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted felon to be elected president.
The Republican was convicted in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
The charges included a scheme to conceal hush money payments to porn actor Stormy Daniels during the final weeks of President Trump’s first campaign in 2016. The payment was made to stop her from going public with claims that she had a sexual relationship with a married Trump years ago. He says her story is a lie and that he did nothing wrong.
The case centered on how Mr. Trump reimbursed his then-personal attorney, Michael Cohen, for payments made to Mr. Daniels. Cohen said Friday that Marchand’s decision to press ahead with sentencing was “wise and appropriate.”
The conviction could result in the 78-year-old president being sentenced to anything from fines or probation to up to four years in prison. His sentencing was originally scheduled for July 11 last year but was postponed twice at the request of the defense.
Marchand then postponed sentencing again after Trump’s Nov. 5 election to allow the defense and prosecutors to consider the future of the case.
Trump’s lawyers urged Marchand to throw it out. To do otherwise, they said, would create unconstitutional “chaos” on the next president’s ability to run the country.
Prosecutors acknowledged that some consideration was needed to help him become the next president, but argued that the conviction should be upheld.
They proposed a variety of options, including freezing the case during his term or guaranteeing an acquittal. They also proposed closing the case with a formal notation of both his conviction and pending appeal. This is a novel idea derived from the actions some state courts take when a criminal defendant dies while on appeal.
Marchand ruled that Trump’s current status as president-elect does not grant him the same immunity as a sitting president. Shelving the judgment and dismissing the case would be a “drastic” step and would “incalculably undermine the rule of law,” Marchand wrote.
Before Trump’s election in November, his lawyers sought to overturn his conviction on other grounds. It was a Supreme Court immunity decision that gave the president broad protection from criminal prosecution.
When Mr. Cohen paid Mr. Daniels in October 2016, Mr. Trump was a private citizen who was campaigning for president but had not been elected or sworn in. Mr. Trump was president when Mr. Cohen was repaid, and Mr. Cohen testified that he discussed the repayment arrangement in the Oval Office.
Trump’s hush money lawyers argued that the jury obtained some evidence that should be protected by presidential immunity. Mr Marchand later rejected that claim, but in the meantime the election had raised new questions.
President Trump urged Marchand to vacate his conviction, but also moved the case to federal court, where he could also claim immunity. Federal judges repeatedly said no, but Trump appealed.
The hush money case is the only one of President Trump’s four criminal indictments that went to trial.
After the election, Special Counsel Jack Smith closed two federal cases. One concerned Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. Another claimed to have classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago mansion.
Another state-level election interference case in Georgia has stalled after an appeals court removed prosecutor Fani Willis from the case.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers argued that Mr. Smith’s decision to dismiss the federal charges against Mr. Trump should also result in the dismissal of the New York hush-money lawsuit. But Marchand said he found that argument unpersuasive, noting that hush money cases are at a “significantly” different stage.
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