Donald Trump spent much of the four years between his two presidential terms in various forms of legal jeopardy, and at one point was under indictment in four separate jurisdictions. However, due to different factors, only one of those cases actually made it to trial, ending with Trump’s conviction on 34 counts.
With the two federal cases against Trump already dropped, and the Georgia RICO case in limbo, only the New York hush money case remains alive. Last Friday, Judge Juan Merchan ruled that Trump would indeed be sentenced in that case before his inauguration, although the judge did declare that Trump will not receive prison time. The sentencing is now scheduled for January 10, which is this Friday; Trump will not be required to appear in person for the sentencing.
“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 judge ruled, as reported by CBS News. “It seems proper at this juncture to make known the court’s inclination to not impose any sentence of incarceration, a sentence authorized by the conviction but one the (prosecutors) concede they no longer view as a practicable recommendation.”
It is up to the court, not Donald Trump. Donald Trump demands not to be sentenced on Jan. 10 in hush money case. The president-elect said that he is appealing a New York judge’s ruling to sentence him. https://t.co/rWjSZsg5Wp
— Douglas Pierre (@pdougmc) January 6, 2025
Stay up-to-date with the latest news!
Subscribe and start recieving our daily emails.
There had been speculation that the judge might dismiss the case, or possibly “freeze” it for four years during the time Trump is president. The sentencing had already been delayed multiple times throughout the year in 2024, as the presidential election progressed.
Now, Trump and his attorneys are appearling, and demanding that no such sentencing take place.
Trump’s team filed a 17-page brief this week, meant to stop the sentencing.
“Due to the fact that further criminal proceedings are automatically stayed by operation of federal constitutional law, the court will lack authority to proceed with sentencing, must therefore immediately vacate the sentencing hearing scheduled for January 10, 2025, and suspend all proceedings in the case until the conclusion of President Trump’s appeal,” Trump’s attorney said, per Courthouse News.
Trump also, over the weekend, took to Truth Social, to push a somewhat nonsensical conspiracy theory that New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg hadn’t wanted to pursue the hush money case, but that “the Biden/Harris DOJ forced Bragg to concoct anything to embarrass TRUMP.”
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
