A judge has ordered Donald Trump to be sentenced on January 10 in his hush money trial in New York – less than two weeks before he is sworn in as president.
New York Judge Juan Merchan has signed that he will sentence Trump to conditional release, where the case is closed without jail, fine or probation, and that the president-elect can appear in person or at the trial.
Trump tried to use his victory in the presidential election to dismiss the impeachment.
His team criticized the Judge’s decision and said the “illegal” case must be dismissed “immediately”.
The case stems from Trump’s conviction in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 (£105,000) payment to former film star Stormy Daniels.
The case stems from Trump’s attempt to cover up payments to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who in the final days of the 2016 election campaign paid the former movie star to keep quiet about alleged sexual encounters with Trump.
The president-elect has denied all wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty, saying the case was an attempt to damage his 2024 presidential campaign.
On Friday, Trump’s spokesman criticized Judge Merchan’s latest order, adding: “President Trump must be allowed to continue the presidential transition process and carry out the important duties of the presidency, undisturbed by the vestiges of this or any vestiges of witchcraft,” Trump said. Steven Cheung said.
“There should be no impunity, and President Trump will continue to fight these tactics to the death.”
In his latest motion opposing the case, Trump’s attorney said the case would focus on him as president and limit his power to govern.
The judge was advised that there are several steps he could take that would ease Trump’s concerns about being impeached by a criminal prosecution while serving as president who failed to “extremely remedy” overturning the judge’s decision.
Justice Merchan was considering his options, including delaying the sentence until Trump, 78, leaves the White House in 2029, or confirming a sentence that does not include prison time.
Trump initially, and unsuccessfully, argued the case against him contradicted the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity in his first motion to dismiss the case.
In July, the country’s highest court ruled that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts” they perform while in office.
However, last month Justice Merchan ruled that Trump’s money laundering conviction was legal.
His sentencing on January 10 will make him the first criminal to serve in the White House.
Although falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years in prison in the US, there is no minimum sentence and imprisonment is not required.
Even before his election victory, legal experts thought it unlikely that Trump would face jail time given his age and legal record.
Trump he was also charged with three other federal and state crimes: one consisting of classified documents and two relating to his alleged attempts to overturn his loss in the 2020 election.
The president-elect was expected to be sentenced on November 26, but Justice Merchan pushed back that date after Trump won the presidential election.
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