Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves a courtroom after a jury found him guilty of all 34 counts in a criminal trial in New York State Supreme Court in New York on May 30, 2024.
Justin Lane | Via Reuters
A judge on Friday denied a motion to dismiss a New York money laundering case against the president-elect Donald Trump and set Trump’s sentencing for Jan. 10 — less than two weeks before he is scheduled to be sworn in for a second term in the White House.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan also said in the written order that he was not inclined to sentence Trump to prison in the case, and that he could impose a sentence of parole. This would mean that the president-elect has no probation or sentence.
Merchan also said Trump had the option of appearing in person or virtually at the sentencing next week.
In his ruling, the judge rejected arguments by Trump’s lawyers that the case should be dismissed because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last summer that granted presidents presumptive immunity from prosecution for acts while in the White House, and because of the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.
Trump’s lawyers also argued that the Manhattan district attorney’s office attacked him for political reasons and that he illegally disclosed information about its investigation.
Trump was convicted at trial in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with a $130,000 hush money payment made by his then-personal attorney Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
“This court finds that presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for a sitting president does not extend to a president-elect,” Merchan wrote in his decision Friday.
The judge also wrote: “Although this court may not by law make any sentencing decision before giving the parties and defendants an opportunity to be heard, It seems appropriate at this time to announce the Court’s preference not to impose a prison sentence, a sentence that the conviction allows but which people admit they no longer consider a practical recommendation,” Merchan wrote Friday.
The judge also wrote that “a sentence of unconditional discharge appears to be the most viable solution to ensure res judicata and allow the defendant to pursue his appellate options.”
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement: “Today’s order by the deeply embattled, acting Judge Merchan in the Manhattan DA witch hunt is in direct violation of the Supreme Court’s ruling on immunity and other long-standing case law.”
“This illegal case should never have been brought and the Constitution demands that it be dismissed immediately,” Cheung said. “President Trump must be allowed to continue the presidential transition process and carry out the vital duties of the presidency, undisturbed by the remnants of this or any remnants of the Witch Hunt. There should be no convictions, and President Trump will continue to fight these deceptions until everyone die.”
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