Convicted criminal: Judge announces sentence against Trump

FR Convicted criminal: Judge announces sentence against Trump Lisa Mahnke • 4 hours • 3 minutes reading time Trump team fights against it A jury found Donald Trump guilty in the hush money trial at the end of May. Now all that's missing is the sentence. It's scheduled to happen on January 10th. New York City - Just ten days before his inauguration, the sentence against future US President Donald Trump in his hush money trial is scheduled to be announced on January 10th (3:30 p.m. CET). Trump's legal team is trying to prevent the verdict from being announced at the last minute. Nevertheless, Judge Juan Merchan is sticking to the date - but there will probably be no serious consequences for Trump. In an 18-page decision letter, according to the AP news agency, Merchan indicated that Trump would probably receive a so-called unconditional release. For the Republican, that would mean that he would get away without a prison sentence or probation. The options had been discussed before Trump won the 2024 US election. In theory, Merchan could still decide to do so in the end. Judge Merchan wants to weigh interests in Trump's hush money trial Merchan has to weigh competing interests: the Supreme Court's July ruling on presidential immunity and the future head of government's ability to rule "unburdened" by the case, but also formal equality before the law and the jury verdict. "This court is simply not convinced that the first factor outweighs the others at this stage of the proceedings," the judge wrote. In addition, in his current status as US president-elect, Trump does not have the same immunity as an incumbent president. If a fine is imposed, Trump could face a fine of up to $170,000 per charge, according to Forbes. A suspended sentence is considered unlikely, as it would bring many logistical challenges for Trump's second term. Judge announces sentence for Donald Trump: Announcement postponed several times "I'm a little curious why it took so long, but I don't want to criticize the judge because I have no idea what his other cases are like," said former district judge Diane Kiesel. "And I know he wanted to make sure he got it right because as soon as Mr. Trump is convicted, everyone will be running to the appeals court." After the US election in November, Merchan postponed the verdict so that the case could be re-evaluated in light of Trump's imminent presidency. The sentence was actually supposed to be announced in July 2024, but Merchan postponed the sentencing several times. Trump team fights against announcement: sentence could affect US presidency Trump was found guilty in the New York trial in May of having covered up a $130,000 hush money payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels before his election victory in 2016 by falsifying business documents. This makes Trump the first convicted criminal to run for the office of US president and will now run for it. Since the trial was not held in a federal court, Trump could not pardon himself. Even with pardons in federal court proceedings, there are legal discussions about Trump's options. As a convicted criminal, Trump may have to apply for special permits for countries that have entry restrictions for criminals when traveling abroad for political reasons. These include Canada, China, Japan, Great Britain and Australia. This is probably not least why Trump's legal team is trying to fight against the verdict until the last second. A letter dated Tuesday (January 7) from Trump's legal team calling for the immediate suspension of the proceedings in New York was not met with approval by Merchan. "Only by finally resolving this matter" will the interests of justice be served, he wrote. Ultimately, however, according to Forbes, this will now have to be decided by the Supreme Court after the appeals court rejected the appeal. This could delay the sentencing again. Trump team wants to end the trial with presidential immunity According to PBS News, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung stuck to the lawyers' position. "There should be no conviction, and President Trump will continue to fight these fraud cases until they are all dead." Trump described the fact that he was found guilty as a "manipulated, disgraceful" result of a "witch hunt." Trump's legal team had previously tried repeatedly to claim immunity for their client - without any real success. The court should stop the proceedings "in order to prevent a serious injustice and an attack on the institution of the president and the functioning of the federal government," the legal team's letter said, according to AFP. The lawyers again invoked the extended immunity that the Supreme Court granted to US presidents last year. The court is predominantly conservative due to Trump's appointments during his first term in office from 2017 to 2021. (lismah)