On Friday, an American judge set the date of January 10 to pronounce the sentence on President-elect Donald Trump in the criminal case related to paying money in exchange for silence, that is, about a week before his return to the White House, but he promised not to imprison him.
Judge Juan Merchan indicated that he rejected Trump’s request to drop the case, despite his victory in the recent presidential elections, adding that the president-elect of the Republican Party can attend the sentencing hearing, whether in person or via video communication. The session is scheduled to be held just ten days before his inauguration.
Merchan explained in his decision that unconditional release, which means no imprisonment, fines or probation, is the most viable option in this case.
In turn, the US President-elect condemned the decision, considering this move an “illegitimate political attack.” Trump wrote on his social media platform, “Truth Social,” that “this unlawful political attack is nothing but a farce.”
Stephen Chang, Trump’s spokesman, denounced a “violation” of presidential immunity, and said that setting a date for pronouncing the sentence represents “a direct violation of the decision issued by the Supreme Court related to immunity, and other long-standing judicial precedents.”
In a second request submitted by Trump’s defense team to cancel the case filed since his conviction last May, the lawyers considered that the continuation of the case during his presidency may negatively affect his ability to manage governance. But the judge rejected this claim, stressing that overturning the jury’s verdict would harm the rule of law.
Trump’s sentence was previously scheduled to be pronounced on November 26, but the judge decided to postpone it indefinitely after Trump won the November 5 election over Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party nominee.
It is noteworthy that Trump was convicted last May 30 of falsifying business records, in order to hide the payment of $130,000 to actress Stormy Daniels by his former lawyer, in exchange for her silence about an alleged illicit relationship that she said occurred a decade before the 2016 elections.
Last updated: January 4, 2025 – 13:35
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