Former US President Donald Trump leaves the courthouse after a jury found him guilty of all 34 felony counts in his criminal trial at New York State Supreme Court in New York on May 30, 2024.
Justin Lane | Via Reuters
A judge on Friday denied a request to dismiss a New York criminal hush money case against the President-elect Donald Trump and scheduled Trump's sentencing for Jan. 10 — less than two weeks before he is to be sworn in for a second term in the White House.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, in a written order, also said he was not likely to sentence Trump to prison in the case, and could sentence him to an unconditional release. That would mean that there would be no confirmation or fine on the elected president.
Merchan also said that Trump had the option of appearing in person or virtually for the sentencing next week.
In his ruling, the judge rejected arguments by Trump's lawyers that the case should be dismissed because of a US Supreme Court decision last summer that said the heads had dubious immunity. -sit from criminal charges for official acts while serving in the White House, and because of the Supremacy of the Constitution. Clause.
Trump's lawyers also argued that the Manhattan district attorney's office targeted him for political reasons, and that they illegally leaked information about his investigation.
Trump was convicted at trial in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 cash payment made by his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, to the star Stormy Daniels porn before the 2016 presidential election.
“This Court finds that presidential immunity from criminal process for a sitting president does not extend to a President-elect,” Merchan wrote in his ruling Friday.
The judge also wrote, “While this Court may not as a matter of law make any decision on sentence before giving the parties and the Defendants an opportunity to be heard, It seems proper at this point to state the Court's reason for not imposing any sentence of imprisonment, a sentence authorized by the conviction but one which the People admit they do not no longer seen as a viable proposition,” Merchan wrote Friday.
The judge also wrote that “a sentence of unconditional discharge appears to be the most feasible solution to ensure finality and allow the Defendant to pursue his appeal options.”
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement, “Today's order by Acting Judge Merchan in the Manhattan DA Witch Hunt is a direct violation of the Supreme Court's Immunity decision and long-standing jurisprudence another time.
“This lawless case should never have been introduced and the Constitution demands that it be abolished immediately,” Cheung said. -chair Trump to continue the Presidential Transition process and carry out the essential functions of the presidency, unhindered by the remnants of this shooting or the remnants of the Women's Hunt -Wizards. Shouldn't there is no sentence, and President Trump will continue to fight lies until they are all dead.”
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