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juan merchan
'The Next President of the United States Is a Felon': Trump Sentenced
"Donald Trump will have no penalty for criminal wrongdoing, which is an affront to accountability and to a system where no one is above the law, though the judge had little alternative," said one ethics expert.
Jan 10, 2025
After being convicted of 34 felonies in New York last year, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday received an unconditional discharge during a sentencing hearing that came just over a week before the Republican's second inauguration.
Just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court—which includes three Trump appointees—allowed the hearing to proceed, New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan declined to impose fines or sentence Trump to prison for his crimes, which related to hush money payments to cover up sex scandals during the 2016 presidential election cycle.
"Donald Trump will have no penalty for criminal wrongdoing, which is an affront to accountability and to a system where no one is above the law, though the judge had little alternative," said Noah Bookbinder, president and CEO of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "But now, formally, the next president of the United States is a felon."
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Upholding Trump Conviction in Hush-Money Case, Judge Sets Sentencing for Next Week
The president-elect's sentencing is scheduled for January 10, though it will almost certainly be appealed.
Jan 03, 2025
President-elect Donald Trump will almost certain to be the first felon to serve as U.S. president following a ruling on Friday by New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.
Weeks before Trump is set to take office, Merchan upheld Trump's criminal conviction of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the case involving efforts to conceal a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election cycle.
The Republican president-elect had filed a motion to dismiss the indictment and vacate the guilty verdict that was reached by a jury in May.
Merchan scheduled Trump's sentencing for January 10, just 10 days before his inauguration.
Merchan signaled in his ruling that he is not inclined to sentence the Republican president-elect to prison. The conviction carries up to four years in prison.
Instead, Merchan is expected to grant Trump an "unconditional discharge" of his sentence, according to The New York Times, which cements his status as a felon but allows him to walk free.
The Manhattan district attorney had proposed the possibility of postponing Trump's sentencing until after his second presidential term ends in 2029.
His sentencing was originally set for July but was postponed after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that presidents enjoy "absolute immunity" for "official acts" taken while in office. That ruling was related to a separate indictment of Trump regarding his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump is expected to ask an appeals court to intervene and postpone the January 10 sentencing.
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Judge Delays Trump Sentencing in Hush Money Case Until After 2024 Election
One analyst argued the decision was "wrong," writing that "if no one is above the law, then Trump shouldn't be either."
Sep 06, 2024
The New York judge overseeing the criminal case stemming from hush money payments that Donald Trump made to porn star Stormy Daniels opted Friday to postpone the Republican nominee's sentencing until after the 2024 election, granting the former president's request for a delay.
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan wrote Friday that "this is not a decision this court makes lightly but it is the decision which in this court's view, best advances the interests of justice."
Trump was originally scheduled to be sentenced in July for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, but Merchan noted that the U.S. Supreme Court's sweeping presidential immunity decision provided Trump's legal team an opening to delay the process further.
Prior to Merchan's order Friday, Trump's sentencing hearing was set for September 18.
As The New York Times reported, "it is unclear whether sentencing Mr. Trump" in the weeks ahead of the November 5 election "would have helped or harmed him politically; his punishment could have been an embarrassing reminder of his criminal record, but could have also propelled his claims of political martyrdom."
"The jury did its job and, after reviewing a mountain of evidence that resulted in his conviction on 34 felony counts, it's well past time for Donald Trump to be held accountable."
Norman Eisen, co-founder and board member of State Democracy Defenders Action, argued in an op-ed for MSNBC last month that Trump's sentencing should not be delayed, writing that "Trump should be denied the special treatment he seeks to delay his sentence simply because he is a presidential candidate."
"To avoid undermining public faith in the rule of law and fairness of the criminal justice system," Eisen wrote, "Trump's sentencing should go ahead as scheduled."
Eisen wrote on social media Friday that Merchan's decision to postpone Trump's sentencing was "wrong."
"Trump has already benefited from extraordinary special treatment," he added. "If no one is above the law, then Trump shouldn't be either."
Merchan wrote in his decision Friday that "this matter is one that stands alone, in a unique place in this nation's history," and experts are uncertain what would happen under various possible scenarios—including if Trump wins the 2024 election and is subsequently sentenced to prison.
One certainty, according to the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, is that "even if Trump is elected to a second term, he would not be able to pardon himself for these crimes because he was convicted on New York state charges."
Lisa Gilbert and Brett Edkins, co-chairs of the Not Above the Law Coalition, said in a statement Friday that "today's latest delay prevents justice from being served."
"At every step along the way, Trump and his legal team did everything they could to delay accountability in this case and undermine our legal system—even stooping so low as to intimidate witnesses, publicly criticize jurors, and defy orders from the judge," they continued. "The jury did its job and, after reviewing a mountain of evidence that resulted in his conviction on 34 felony counts, it's well past time for Donald Trump to be held accountable."
This story has been updated to include a statement from the Not Above the Law Coalition.
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