President-elect Donald Trump’s bid to overturn his conviction in the criminal hush money case was denied on Friday, and he is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 10. Trump will not face jail time, with penalties expected to be financial in nature.
The case centers on payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to silence allegations of extramarital affairs ahead of the 2016 election. Prosecutors argued these payments violated campaign finance laws, and a jury convicted him. Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or affairs, claiming the payments were personal matters unrelated to his campaign.
On Friday, New York Judge Juan Merchan rejected Trump’s request to vacate the conviction, stating that the Supreme Court’s recent presidential immunity ruling did not apply. He also did not want to overturn the findings of the jury.
“Here, 12 jurors unanimously found Defendant guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records with the intent to defraud, which included an intent to commit or conceal a conspiracy to promote a presidential election by unlawful means,” he wrote.
However, in his ruling, Merchan made clear that Trump would not face jail time.
“It seems proper at this juncture to make known the Court’s inclination to not impose any sentence of incarceration, a sentence authorized by the conviction but one the People concede they no longer view as a practicable recommendation,” Merchan wrote.
The Trump-JD Vance transition team, however, took issue with Merchan’s ruling and issued a statement.
“Today’s order by the deeply conflicted, Acting Justice Merchan in the Manhattan DA Witch Hunt is a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s Immunity decision and other longstanding jurisprudence. This lawless case should have never been brought, and the Constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed.”
Trump’s sentencing is set for 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 10, and he has the option to appear in person or virtually.
