(NEW YORK) — In a remarkable development, a judge announced on Friday that President-elect Donald Trump’s sentencing for his hush money case is scheduled for January 10—just over a week before he is set to return to the White House. The judge, however, suggested that Trump would not face incarceration.
This situation places Trump on track to become the first president to assume office with a felony conviction.
Judge Juan M. Merchan, who oversaw Trump’s trial, indicated in his written ruling that he would likely impose a conditional discharge, meaning the case could be dismissed if Trump stays out of legal trouble.
Merchan dismissed Trump’s request to have the verdict thrown out based on claims of presidential immunity and the upcoming return to the presidency. The judge stated he saw “no legal barrier to sentencing” Trump and emphasized the need to conclude the matter before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
“Only by bringing finality to this matter” can the interests of justice be upheld, Merchan noted.
Trump was found guilty in May on 34 counts related to falsifying business records, stemming from a purported scheme to conceal a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the final weeks of his 2016 presidential campaign. This payment was intended to prevent her from disclosing claims of a past sexual encounter with the then-married Trump. He maintains that her allegations are untrue and insists he did nothing wrong.
Following Trump’s November 5 election victory, Merchan paused the proceedings and postponed the sentencing indefinitely to allow both the defense and prosecution to consider the case’s future.
Read More: What Trump’s Win Means for His Legal Cases
Trump’s legal team urged Merchan to dismiss the case, arguing that it could create unconstitutional “disruptions” to the new president’s ability to govern.
While prosecutors acknowledged that some consideration should be given to Trump’s impending presidency, they insisted that the conviction should remain in effect.
They proposed several alternatives, such as putting the case on hold during his term or ensuring that he would not face jail time. Another suggestion was to close the case while formally recognizing both his conviction and pending appeal—an innovative approach seen in some state courts when defendants die during the appeal process.
When he takes office on January 20, Trump will be the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted felon to hold the presidency.
Following his conviction, the 78-year-old faces potential penalties ranging from fines or probation to a maximum of four years in prison.
The key issue in the case was how Trump accounted for the reimbursement to his attorney for the payment made to Daniels.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s lawyer, initially paid the sum. He later recovered the money through several payments that Trump’s company recorded as legal expenses. Most of the checks were signed by Trump himself while he was in office.
Prosecutors argued that this classification was intended to obscure the actual purpose of the payments and to assist in covering up a broader scheme to prevent damaging information about Trump from reaching voters during his first campaign.
Trump contended that Cohen was legitimately compensated for legal services and that the suppression of Daniels’ story was to protect his family’s privacy rather than to sway voters.
At the time of Cohen’s payment to Daniels in October 2016, Trump was a private citizen campaigning for the presidency. He was serving as president when Cohen was reimbursed, and Cohen testified that they discussed the repayment in the Oval Office.
Trump, a Republican, has described the verdict as the “rigged, disgraceful” outcome of a “witch hunt” orchestrated by Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Prior to Trump’s election in November, his lawyers attempted to overturn the conviction based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling from July that granted presidents broad immunity from criminal charges. This request was pending when the election introduced new complications.
In addition to seeking dismissal of the conviction, Trump sought to transfer the case to federal court, where he could also claim immunity. However, a federal judge repeatedly denied this request, leading Trump to file an appeal.
The hush money case represents the only one of Trump’s four criminal indictments that proceeded to trial.
Following the election, special counsel Jack Smith concluded his two federal cases against Trump—one concerning alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and another regarding the alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Meanwhile, a separate state-level case regarding election interference in Georgia is largely stalled.
