President-elect Donald Trump launched a late-night social media tirade against the New York judge set to sentence him in the hush money case, even as the judge signaled Trump would likely avoid jail time.
Judge Juan Merchan scheduled Trump’s sentencing for January 10, 2025, just ten days before Trump’s presidential inauguration, for his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. The case stems from a $130,000 payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg originally handled the case, but Trump claims Bragg “never wanted to bring this lawless case against me” and was “furious at the way it was handled, and especially angry at MARK POMERANTZ for his behavior.”
Pomerantz, a former Manhattan District Attorney’s Office prosecutor, had previously argued that his team built a “solid case” for securing Trump’s conviction on financial crimes in 2022 but claimed Bragg’s inexperience with the case details led to delays.
In response to the sentencing date, Trump’s legal team filed a motion Monday seeking to halt the proceedings, arguing that they should be suspended while they appeal Trump’s presidential immunity claims.
Despite Trump’s attacks, Judge Merchan has indicated he plans to issue an “unconditional discharge,” meaning Trump would face no jail time, probation, or fines. The judge previously rejected Trump’s attempt to have the case dismissed based on his status as president-elect.
In a series of social media posts, Trump called Merchan a “CORRUPT and TOTALLY CONFLICTED POLITICAL HACK” and claimed he is legally barred from discussing the judge’s alleged “conflicts of interest.” Trump also asserted that “Virtually every legal scholar and pundit says THERE IS NO (ZERO!) CASE AGAINST ME.”
The case has significant implications for Trump’s upcoming presidency. His lawyers argue that forcing him to proceed with sentencing while his appeal is pending would “force that President ‘to answer for his conduct in court’ before his claim of immunity is finally adjudicated.” They further contend that the sentencing would disrupt his presidential transition and “threatens the functioning of the federal government.”
Steven Cheung, a Trump spokesman, said in a statement that the President-elect’s lawyers had “moved to stop the unlawful sentencing in the Manhattan D.A.’s Witch Hunt,” claiming that “the Supreme Court’s historic decision on Immunity, the state constitution of New York, and other established legal precedent mandate that this meritless hoax be immediately dismissed.”
The conviction centers on how Trump accounted for reimbursing his then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen for the payment to Daniels. Prosecutors proved Trump falsified business records to conceal the payment, which was made to prevent Daniels from speaking about an alleged affair before the 2016 election. Trump has consistently denied the affair.
Judge Merchan ruled that Trump cannot claim presidential immunity to overturn his conviction, stating the criminal charges stemmed from Trump’s “private acts” prior to becoming president. The judge determined that various testimony and evidence in the case did not violate Supreme Court rulings about excluding official acts from prosecution.
If sentencing proceeds as scheduled, Trump would become the first U.S. president to take office with felony convictions. However, the unconditional discharge would effectively serve as a blemish on Trump’s record without imposing tangible repercussions.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has declined to comment on the latest filing but is expected to respond to the defense’s motion. The judge has explored various options to address Trump’s concerns about being distracted by the criminal case while serving as president but has maintained that the conviction remains valid.
