Trump to be sentenced for New York hush money conviction before inauguration

Before returning to the White House, President-elect Donald Trump will return to the courthouse, a New York judge ruled Friday.

Judge Juan Merchan will sentence Trump for his crimes on January 10 – just 10 days before his January 20 inauguration – in a legal proceeding unlike any other in America's 248 years. . Trump's conviction in New York stems from a so-called “hush money” payment of $130,000 that his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the days before the 2016 elections.

Judge Juan Merchan's ruling ends two months of speculation — and back-and-forth between Trump's lawyers and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's prosecutors — following Trump's narrow Nov. 5 election victory.

Trump became the first former president convicted of crimes in May, when a unanimous jury found him guilty in the New York case. Sentencing in the case was stalled for months as Trump campaigned for a return to the presidency. In November, he became the first person to vote for the White House after a criminal conviction.

The president-elect had argued in a motion to dismiss that his ascension to the White House made it mandatory to overturn his conviction. Mercan said Friday no.

“This court finds that neither reversal of the jury verdicts nor dismissal of the indictment is required by the doctrine of presidential immunity, the Presidential Transition Act, or the Supremacy Clause,” Merchan wrote in his order Friday.

Merchan indicated in his ruling that Trump would not receive prison time. He wrote that prosecutors agreed with that decision. He also said Trump could appear virtually rather than in person for sentencing.

“It seems appropriate, at this stage, to make known the court's desire not to impose a prison sentence, a sentence authorized by the conviction but which (prosecutors) admit to no longer considering as a feasible recommendation,” wrote Merchan.

Trump's lawyers argued that the constitutional requirements imposed on an elected president “supersede” the jury's decision and ongoing proceedings in the case.

Bragg's office argued that the judge had a series of options, including “novel” options to balance the interests of justice with the unprecedented situation of a convicted defendant being elected to the presidency before the pronounced sentence. Their suggestions included postponing the proceedings until the end of Trump's term, and even closing the case and its proceedings with a note that the verdict had not been overturned.

Merchan said Trump's own motion to dismiss recognized that a president-elect is not entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution.

“There is no doubt that the transition period between election and taking the presidential oath of office is filled with enormous responsibilities,” Merchan wrote. “Yet even (the) respondent in his motion refers to presidential immunity as specifically relating to a sitting president no fewer than 33 times.”

Trump's conviction risked up to four years in prison, but also a wide range of alternatives to incarceration, including probation and fines.

Merchan said in his ruling that after Trump's victory, his lawyers' rhetoric went from “fiery” to “dangerously close to crossing the line.”

“The attorneys used language, even rhetoric, that has no place in legal pleadings. For example, repeatedly in their motion to dismiss, the attorneys accuse the prosecution and this court of “be indulged in “unlawful” and “unconstitutional” conduct,” Merchan wrote.

Merchan cited a recent report by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court that warned against elected leaders undermining the justice system.

“Considered in their full context and with the parties to this action in mind, such arguments, in a broader perspective, have the potential to create a chilling effect on the third branch of government,” Merchan wrote.

Despite Merchan's criticism, Trump's communications director, Steven Cheung, did not hesitate to issue a statement on the decision. He called the case a “witch hunt” and Merchan “deeply divisive.”

“This illegal case should never have been brought and the Constitution requires that it be immediately dismissed,” Cheung said.

Merchan's decision is the latest in a series of historic firsts established by this case. Trump's indictment in March 2023 made him the first former president in U.S. history to be criminally charged. He was the subject of a seven-week trial this spring, which took place during the Republican presidential primaries.

In the courtroom, Trump grumbled quietly but often leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, as prosecutors and lawyers questioned more than 20 witnesses. Sometimes his head would drop, while he seemed to be dozing off. In the hallway just outside the courtroom — surrounded by a rotating group of Republican allies, lawyers and Secret Service agents — Trump seethed around the case while campaigning before a group of press cameras.

At times, his dual involvement in court and in front of the cameras caused problems. Merchan has scorned Trump 10 times for violating a hush order barring public statements about potential jurors, witnesses and others.

Witnesses, starting with David Pecker, former publisher of the National Enquirer, described two schemes at the heart of the affair. The first was a plan hatched by Trump, Pecker and former attorney Michael Cohen to “spot” stories or allegations that could harm Trump's 2016 presidential bid and “kill” them by paying people in exchange for money. non-disclosure agreements. Pecker and others have described three such arrangements, known as “silent” payments.

Days before the election, Cohen paid $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels — also a witness at the trial — in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual relationship with Trump in 2006. He and another witness described Trump's relief that voters hadn't learned. history before the elections.

Cohen also described an arrangement in which he was secretly reimbursed for the payment made to Daniels. The jury found that Trump, while president in 2017, authorized a scheme to falsify business records to conceal Cohen's reimbursement. This scheme ultimately included 34 falsified records related to monthly payments presented as payments for ongoing legal services, when in fact they were reimbursements by Cohen for paying Daniels.

The jury took less than two days to reach its verdict. Trump, who had frequently looked at the jury of his peers during the trial, did not want to look them in the eye during his sentencing.

He stared straight ahead as the jury foreman found Trump guilty 34 times and Merchan thanked the jury for their service before allowing him to leave the room.

After Merchan himself walked out, Trump stood up, frowning deeply, and briefly grabbed his son Eric's hand.

Trump led his entourage out of the courtroom, huddled for a moment with his lawyers, then turned to the cameras waiting for his reaction.

He proclaimed his innocence, was outraged by this affair and returned to his presidential campaign.

Trump investigates more Graham Kates

Graham Kates is an investigative reporter who covers criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at [email protected] or [email protected]

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