A judge has ordered Donald Trump to be sentenced on January 10th in his hush money lawsuit in New York. There are less than two weeks until the presidential inauguration.
New York state judge Juan Melchian signaled that rather than sentencing Trump to prison, probation or a fine, he would instead grant him “unconditional release,” suggesting that the president-elect will not be able to attend a hearing. He may appear in court in person or virtually, the order states.
Trump was trying to use his presidential election victory to get the lawsuit against him dismissed.
The president-elect took to social media to dismiss the judge’s order as an “unlawful political attack” and said the incident was “nothing more than a manufactured farce.”
Mr Trump was found guilty in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with a $130,000 (£105,000) payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The charges are related to an attempt to conceal a redemption made to former lawyer Michael Cohen, who forced the adult film star to remain silent about her alleged sexual encounters with President Trump in the final stages of the 2016 campaign.
The president-elect has denied all wrongdoing and has maintained his innocence in the incident, saying it was an attempt to damage his 2024 presidential campaign.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump said the judge’s sentencing order “violates our Constitution and, if passed, will end the presidency as we know it.” It will happen,” he said.
President Trump’s press secretary Stephen Chan earlier called the order part of a “witch hunt.”
“President Trump must be allowed to continue the presidential transition process and carry out the important duties of the presidency, unencumbered by the remnants of the witch hunt and the remnants of the witch hunt,” Chan said. Ta.
“There should be no sentencing. President Trump will continue to fight misinformation until it’s all dead.”
In his latest motion in response to the lawsuit, President Trump argued that the lawsuit would affect his term as president and impede his ability to govern.
Judge Marchan said he was advised of several steps that could allay Trump’s concerns that he would be preoccupied with criminal cases that fall short of the “extreme remedy” of overturning a jury verdict while in office. Ta.
His options included delaying the sentence until President Trump, 78, leaves the White House in 2029 or guaranteeing a sentence without prison time.
Trump initially argued unsuccessfully that the lawsuit against him violated the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity.
The country’s Supreme Court ruled in July that the president has broad immunity from criminal prosecution for “official acts” he takes while in office.
But last month, Judge Marchand ruled that Trump’s hush money conviction should stand.
Trump is now set to become the first convicted felon to hold the White House.
He may attempt to appeal the conviction after sentencing.
In the United States, falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years in prison, but there is no minimum sentence and no mandatory incarceration.
Even before his election victory, legal experts believed it was unlikely that Mr. Trump would face prison time, given his age and legal history.
Trump has also been charged in three other state and federal criminal cases, one related to classified documents and two related to Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. It is.
The president-elect’s sentencing was originally scheduled for Nov. 26, but Judge Marchand postponed the date after Trump won the presidential election.
