Faced with the never-before-seen dilemma of how, when or even whether to sentence a former and future US president, the judge in President-elect Donald Trump ‘s hush money case made a dramatic decision that could nevertheless bring the case to a muted end.
In a ruling Friday, Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan scheduled the sentencing for 10 days before Trump’s inauguration — but the judge indicated that he’s leaning toward a sentence that would amount to just closing the case without any real punishment. He said Trump could attend the Jan. 10 proceeding remotely because of his transition duties.
Still, that would leave Trump headed back to the White House with a felony conviction.
Will it come to that? Trump wants the conviction thrown out and the case dismissed, and communications director Steven Cheung said the president-elect will “keep fighting.” But it’s tough to predict just what will unfold in this unprecedented, unpredictable case. Here are some key questions and what we know about the answers: Remind me: Why is Trump awaiting sentencing? Trump was convicted in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying his business’ records. They pertained to a USD 130,000 payment, made through his former personal lawyer in 2016, to keep porn actor Stormy Daniels from publicising her story of having had sex with Trump a decade earlier. He denies her claim and says he’s done nothing wrong.
Trump’s sentencing was initially set for July 11. But at his lawyers’ request, the proceeding was postponed twice, eventually landing on a date in late November, after the presidential election. Then Trump won, and Merchan put everything on hold to consider what to do.
What did the judge just order? Merchan denied Trump’s request to toss out the conviction and the entire case. The judge ordered Trump to appear — virtually or in person, as he chooses — for sentencing at 9: 30