President-elect Donald Trump is set to face sentencing on January 10, just ten days before his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States. A New York judge ruled Friday against Trump’s motion to dismiss the case, concluding that his election victory does not invalidate his May conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Justice Juan Merchan rejected Trump’s claims that his status as president-elect supersedes the jury’s verdict, writing, “This court finds that neither the vacatur of the jury’s verdicts nor dismissal of the indictment are required by the Presidential immunity doctrine, the Presidential Transition Act, or the Supremacy Clause.”
The case centers on a $130,000 hush money payment made by Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the final days of the 2016 election. Prosecutors argued that Trump authorized a scheme to falsify business records to cover up Cohen’s reimbursement for the payment, which was misrepresented as legal fees.
While Trump faces up to four years in prison for the charges, Merchan indicated in his ruling that incarceration is unlikely. “The court’s inclination is to not impose any sentence of incarceration, a sentence authorized by the conviction but one the prosecution concedes they no longer view as a practicable recommendation,” Merchan wrote. Prosecutors suggested alternative penalties such as probation or fines.
The trial was historic, marking the first time a former U.S. president has been convicted of crimes. Trump’s May conviction followed a seven-week trial in which witnesses, including National Enquirer publisher David Pecker and Stormy Daniels, described efforts to suppress damaging stories during Trump’s 2016 campaign.
