A Sentencing Date for Donald Trump’s Hush Money Conviction Set 10 Days Before Inauguration
A bombshell ruling was issued on Friday by Judge Juan Merchan, setting a sentencing date for Donald Trump’s hush money conviction just 10 days before the president-elect’s inauguration. Trump is scheduled to appear in person or virtually for sentencing on January 10.
In his ruling, Judge Merchan stated that he found no “legal impediment to sentencing” Trump and that only by bringing finality to the matter will the interests of justice be served. Merchan indicated that Trump will not face jail time, and the sentencing will come in the form of an unconditional discharge, which closes a case without jail time, a fine, or probation.
Trump’s defense team had fought for months to dismiss the case after the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling and his November presidential election victory. However, Judge Merchan pushed back against Trump’s original August 2024 sentencing, pausing and indefinitely suspending the proceedings until the defense and prosecution could discuss the case’s future.
The jury in Lower Manhattan convicted Trump on May 30, 2024, of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in an alleged scheme to hide hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump has vehemently denied having an affair with Daniels.
Despite the sentencing, Trump still has options available to him, including appealing the conviction to the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, then the New York Court of Appeal, and finally the Supreme Court. The real immediate question is whether the Appellate Division will step in to stop next week’s sentencing or if Trump will have to go through the normal appellate process, which will take months.