NY Judge Orders Trump to Appear at Criminal Sentencing 10 Days Before Inauguration
R: AP Photo/Seth Wenig
President-elect Donald Trump must report to a New York courthouse for sentencing in his criminal hush money case just 10 days before his inauguration, the judge in that case ruled on Friday.
Trump was convicted in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in relation to hush money payments to former adult film star Stormy Daniels. The sentencing was suspended while Trump ran for president. After the November election, it appeared possible Trump could avoid sentencing altogether after he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to secure a second term in the White House. Trump had moved to dismiss the case, which Judge Juan Merchan denied in Friday’s ruling.
He was originally scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 26 and faced the possibility of jail time, although most analysts found that unlikely.
Merchan ordered the president-elect to be present for sentencing on Jan. 10. Reuters reported:
Donald Trump must be sentenced in the criminal case in which he was convicted on criminal charges involving hush money paid to a porn star on Jan. 10, just days before he is set to be inaugurated as president, a judge ruled on Friday. Justice Juan Merchan denied Trump’s motion to dismiss the case due to his presidential election victory. The judge said the Republican president-elect may appear for sentencing either in-person or virtually.
In Trump’s second motion to dismiss the case filed since his May conviction, his defense lawyers argued that having the case hang over him during his presidency would impede his ability to govern. Trump’s first motion – which argued the case ran afoul of a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity – was unsuccessful.
Politico’s Kyle Cheney noted that Merchan wrote in his ruling that he would not sentence Trump to serve any time behind bars.
The sentencing will take place four days after Trump’s election win is certified on Jan. 6 and 10 days before he is inaugurated.
Trump’s court-ordered appearance will also coincide with funeral arrangements for former President Jimmy Carter, who died last week at the age of 100.
Trump told reporters this week he would attend Carter’s funeral after he was invited to do so.
