Washington New York Justice Juan Merchan issued an order Friday that calls for President-elect Donald Trump to be sentenced in New York on 34 criminal charges on January 10, just days before his inauguration.
Merchan wrote that instead of pursuing Trump’s jail, he would prefer an unconditional discharge, which would leave Trump with a criminal record in New York but save him from any severe consequences. On Friday, a Trump representative said the president-elect will contest the sentence.
After winning the 2024 presidential election in November, Trump, who will take the oath of office as the 47th president on January 20, has essentially seen his numerous criminal cases come to a halt.
In May, a jury found Trump guilty of fabricating business records to conceal a hush-money conspiracy involving adult film actress Stormy Daniels and his personal attorney Michael Cohen in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, making him the first former president to be convicted of a felony.
Trump’s sentencing date in New York was postponed several times, including right after his victory on November 5, which made Merchan reconsider how to proceed with sentencing a president-elect.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s July decision that past presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for official activities, Trump’s lawyers also contested evidence in the case and delayed their client’s sentence.
On December 16, Merchan finally decided that the bulk of Trump’s case concerned only unofficial behavior that was not protected by immunity.
Merchan stated in his Friday order that the complicated Trump issue is probably going to never be witnessed again.
It is incumbent upon this Court to set this matter down for the imposition of sentence prior to January 20, 2025, Merchan wrote, noting that all other options have been exhausted in what is an unprecedented and probably never to be repeated legal scenario. Merchan found no legal obstacle to sentencing and acknowledged that Presidential immunity will likely attach once the Defendant takes his Oath of Office.
The defendant must be sentenced by this court within a reasonable amount of time after the verdict, Merchan added, and he must be allowed to use all of his appeal rights, which he has stated he intends to do but which only become fully available with sentencing.
For the sentencing, Merchan has offered Trump the choice of appearing in person or online.
Merchan’s directive comes as special counsel Jack Smith of the U.S. Department of Justice closed two federal cases against Trump, one involving alleged election meddling in the 2020 presidential election and the other involving classified documents unlawfully stored at Trump’s Florida resort following his first term in office. Smith cited a longstanding rule that states that sitting presidents are not prosecuted.
In a statement released on Friday, Trump communications director Steven Cheung criticized Merchan as being extremely compromised and claimed the judge was directly violating the Supreme Court’s Immunity ruling and other established legal precedents.
According to Cheung, the Constitution requires that this illegal case be dismissed right now since it should never have been filed. The leftovers of this or any other Witch Hunts must not interfere with President Trump’s ability to carry out the essential responsibilities of the presidency and to continue the Presidential Transition process. President Trump will keep fighting these scammers until they are all dead, and there should be no sentence.
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