President-elect Donald Trump is set to face sentencing on January 10 in New York, just ten days prior to his inauguration as president of the United States.
In a ruling made Friday, New York Judge Juan Merchan expressed a preliminary inclination against imposing incarceration. The judge indicated that if sentencing could not be completed before Trump’s inauguration, the proceedings might need to be postponed until after his presidential term.
In May, Trump was convicted on 34 felony charges related to falsifying business records, marking him as a convicted felon. This ruling followed Merchan’s previous determination that Trump could not claim immunity in this case.
The legal proceedings had been placed on hold to allow Trump’s defense team to argue for dismissal of the case.
Trump’s New York Criminal Charges Proceed to Sentencing
Last May, a jury of 12 in New York unanimously concluded after a day and a half of deliberation that Trump had falsified business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, an action aimed at swaying the outcome of the 2016 election.
Subsequent to the verdict, Trump participated in a standard pre-sentencing interview with the New York City Department of Probation. Both the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and Trump’s legal team provided sentencing recommendations; however, these documents have not yet been made public.
In light of the verdict, Trump has shifted focus to fundraising for his campaign and covering legal costs, leveraging the conviction as a means to solicit donations. Within a day of the guilty ruling, his campaign announced significant fundraising success. Trump’s legal team has also confirmed plans to appeal the conviction, a process anticipated to extend over several years.
The jury considered testimonies from 22 witnesses over four weeks during the trial. They reviewed various evidences, including phone records, invoices, and checks to Michael Cohen, who had handled the payment to Daniels to suppress her story regarding an alleged affair with Trump.
The details surrounding the payments and invoices categorically defined as legal services were not contested. Prosecutors needed to establish that Trump had falsified records to facilitate another crime — specifically violating New York election laws that prohibit conspiracy to influence public office elections through unlawful means. Jurors evaluated whether these unlawful actions included infringing upon the Federal Election Campaign Act, falsifying tax returns, or other business record misrepresentations.
This pivotal verdict came over a year after a grand jury indicted Trump on March 30, 2023, marking a historic moment as the first instance of a former or sitting president facing criminal charges in the United States.
