In an unwelcome surprise for Trump, judge upholds his hush money felony conviction
A judge has ordered Donald Trump to be sentenced 10 days before he is sworn in as America’s 47th president over his so-called “hush money” conviction – but he will not serve any jail time.
Months after Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal, the judge overseeing his case has set January 10 as the sentencing date, but has indicated he will likely give the president-elect an unconditional discharge.
Donald Trump and Emil Bove (right), one of his attorneys, in court in New York in May.Credit: Bloomberg
This means that Trump will still be the first convicted felon to occupy the White House when he is sworn in on January 20, but would avoid prison, home probation, fines or other sanctions.
Trump had initially sought to quash the case altogether, arguing that his election victory should nullify his conviction.
However, in an 18-page ruling on Friday (Saturday AEDT), Judge Juan Merchan rejected this.
“To dismiss the indictment and set aside the jury verdict would not serve the concerns set forth by the Supreme Court in its handful of cases addressing presidential immunity nor would it serve the rule of law,” he wrote.
“On the contrary, such decision would undermine the rule of law in immeasurable ways.”
Trump was convicted in May by a New York jury after a blockbuster trial lasting six weeks, with 22 witnesses and two days of deliberations.
Prosecutors had accused him of a criminal conspiracy to “catch and kill” damning stories that could have derailed his chances of becoming president in 2016.
The seeds of that conspiracy were sown in August 2015 during a Trump Tower meeting with his then fixer and lawyer Michael Cohen and tabloid king David Pecker, the then publisher of the National Enquirer, who had promised to be Trump’s “eyes and ears” while he ran for office.
The case against Trump centred on payments made by his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen (centre), to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.Credit: AP
Numerous stories were buried on Trump’s behalf, but the case specifically related to a $US130,000 hush money payment Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who says she had sex with Trump in 2006 when he was newly married to his current wife, Melania.
This crossed a legal line, prosecutors said, because Trump reimbursed Cohen and falsified records to cover the whole thing up, thereby breaching electoral laws.
Trump, however, has consistently rejected the claims, saying they were part of a Democratic “witch-hunt” to thwart his chances of being president.
The case was the only criminal case that made it to trial last year. The 78-year-old Republican originally faced a trial in Washington, DC, for trying to overthrow the results of the 2020 election, another one in Georgia for trying to subvert the election results in that state, and a trial in Florida for mishandling classified documents.
However, he has managed to either delay or kill each case, bolstered by the US Supreme Court’s decision to grant presidents immunity for acts committed in office.
Trump could still seek an urgent appeal against Merchan’s latest decision. In a statement, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung blasted the judge’s decision to proceed with the sentence.
“President Trump must be allowed to continue the presidential transition process and to execute the vital duties of the presidency, unobstructed by the remains of this or any remnants of the witch-hunts,” Cheung said.
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