Justice Juan Merchan has DENIED Donald Trump’s motion to dismiss his hush-money indictment and vacate the guilty verdict and ordered him to appear for sentencing next Friday at 9:30 a.m. virtually or in person. pic.twitter.com/GEGOMPp043
— Molly Crane-Newman (@molcranenewman) January 3, 2025
Judge orders Trump to be sentenced in hush money case on Jan. 10, but says he won’t be incarcerated. Judge in Trump’s hush money case expected to sentence him to ‘unconditional discharge’.
ABC NEWS
The judge in Donald Trump’s New York criminal hush money case indicated Friday that he intends to sentence the president-elect to an “unconditional discharge” out of respect for the presidential immunity doctrine.
Judge Juan Merchan ordered Trump to appear, either in person or virtually, for sentencing on Jan. 10, which is 10 days before Trump’s presidential inauguration.
Merchan, in his ruling Friday, called an unconditional discharge the “most viable solution to ensure finality and allow Defendant to pursue his appellate options.”
Trump faces the possibility of up to four years in prison for his conviction, though most legal experts believe he is more likely to receive a lighter sentence.
Trump’s legal team is expected to try to stop the Jan. 10 sentencing, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News. His lawyers intend to ask an intermediate New York appellate court to intervene and stop the sentencing hearing from going forward, the sources said.
Trump was found guilty this past May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Merchan, in his ruling, described Trump’s conduct as a “premediated and continuous deception by the leader of the free world.”
Connect with us on our socials: