Donald Trump Sentencing In Hush Money Case Set For Next Week
A New York judge has set January 10 as the date for President-elect Donald Trump to be sentenced on 34 felony counts related to hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.
Judge Juan Merchan’s surprising decision sets the date less than two weeks before Trump’s inauguration.
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Merchan also rejected Trump’s motion to dismiss the jury’s conviction in the New York criminal case.
Read the judge’s Trump sentencing decision.
But he indicated that Trump would not receive prison time, writing in his decision that it was his inclination “to not impose any sentence of incarceration, a sentence authorized by the conviction but not one [prosecutors] concede they no longer view as a practical recommendation.”
New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg argued against dismissing the case, given Trump’s re-election, but said that there were a number of options, including postponing the sentencing until after his term.
Trump’s legal team argued that the case should be dismissed, given a recent Supreme Court decision that held that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for official acts while they are in office. Trump had challenged his prosecution in a federal case that charged him with conspiring to remain in power after he lost the 2020 election.
Merchan rejected the view that Trump was immune, writing that presidential immunity does not extend to a president elect.
The judge had delayed sentencing twice already, the most recent until after the presidential election.
Trump, the judge wrote, “has always pronounced, since the inception of this case, confidence and indeed the expectation, that he would prevail in the 2024 Election – confidence that has proven well-founded. That he would become the “President-elect” and be required to assume all the responsibilities that come with the transition were entirely anticipated. Thus, it was fair for this Court to trust that his request to adjourn sentencing until after the election carried with it the implied consent that he would face sentence during the window between the election and the taking of the oath of offrce. The Supreme Court’s decision in Trump has delayed sentence – not precluded it.”
In May, a jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He is the first president or ex-president convicted of a felony.
Merchan also rejected other Trump claims, including that prosecutors relied on perjured testimony and evidence introduced until the presidential immunity doctrine.
More specifically, Merchan wrote that he did not agree with Trump’s characterization of the testimony of a key witness — his former attorney, Michael Cohen. Trump had attacked Cohen’s testimony, but Merchan noted that “a total of 22 witnesses testified at trial, and over 500 exhibits admitted, all of which
supported the jury’s verdict.”
The judge also pushed back on Trump’s claim that the verdict should be set aside because the jury was tainted. The judge wrote that “the parties were given ample opportunity to examine for the existence of bias, partiality, or hostility. Notably, the attorneys did not question the prospective jurors until after the seated jurors had answered an exhaustive questionnaire – which was prepared with the participation of both defense counsel and the prosecution.”
The judge also defended his prior findings that Trump was in contempt of court at points during the trial, writing that his “disdain for the Third Branch of government, whether state or federal, in New
York or elsewhere, is a matter of public record. Indeed, Defendant has gone to great lengths to broadcast on social media and other forums his lack of respect for judges, juries, grand juries and the justice system as a whole.”
Merchan ordered Trump to appear at the sentencing next week, but wrote that the president-elect could appear virtually.
Steven Cheung, Trump communications director, said in a statement, “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. 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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