NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� In an extraordinary turn, a judge Friday set President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing in his hush money case for Jan. 10 鈥� little over a week before he's due to return to the White House 鈥� but indicated he wouldn't be jailed.
The development nevertheless leaves Trump on course to be the first president to take office convicted of felony crimes.
Judge Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Trump鈥檚 trial, signaled in a written decision that he'd sentence the former and future president to what's known as an unconditional discharge, in which a case is closed without jail time, a fine or probation. Trump can appear virtually for sentencing, if he chooses.
Merchan wrote that he sought to balance competing interests: Trump鈥檚 ability to govern 鈥渦nencumbered鈥� by the case, the U.S. Supreme Court's July ruling on presidential immunity, the public鈥檚 expectation 鈥渢hat all are equal and no one is above the Iaw,鈥� and the importance of protecting the 鈥渟anctity of a jury verdict.鈥�
鈥淭his court is simply not persuaded that the first factor outweighs the others at this stage of the proceeding,鈥� Merchan wrote in an 18-page decision.
He rejected Trump鈥檚 push to dismiss the verdict and throw out the case on presidential immunity grounds and because of his impending return to the White House. The judge said that he found 鈥渘o legal impediment to sentencing鈥� Trump, and indeed that it was 鈥渋ncumbent鈥� on the court to do so before Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.
鈥淥nly by bringing finality to this matter鈥� will the interests of justice be served, Merchan wrote.
Trump communications director Steven Cheung reiterated that the case, which Trump has long described as illegitimate, should be dismissed outright.
鈥淭here should be no sentencing, and President Trump will continue fighting against these hoaxes until they are all dead,鈥� Cheung said in a statement.
Trump was convicted in May of . They involved an alleged scheme to hide a to porn actor Stormy Daniels in the last weeks of Trump鈥檚 first campaign in 2016. The payout was made to keep her from publicizing claims she鈥檇 had sex with the married Trump years earlier. He says that her story is false and that he did nothing wrong.
After Trump鈥檚 Nov. 5 election, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case.
Trump鈥檚 lawyers urged Merchan to toss it. They said it would otherwise to the incoming president鈥檚 ability to run the country.
Prosecutors acknowledged there should be some accommodation for his upcoming presidency, but they insisted the conviction should stand.
They , such as freezing the case during his term or guaranteeing him a no-jail sentence. They also proposed closing the case while formally noting both his conviction and his undecided appeal 鈥� a novel idea drawn from what some state courts do when criminal defendants die while appealing their cases.
Merchan ruled that Trump鈥檚 current status as president-elect does not afford him the same kind of immunity granted to a sitting president and does not require that the verdict be set aside and the case dismissed -- a notion the judge described as 鈥渄rastic鈥� and 鈥渞are.鈥�
Doing that 鈥渨ould undermine the Rule of Law in immeasurable ways," Merchan wrote. He opined that it wouldn't address the Supreme Court's concerns about presidential immunity, either.
Trump takes office Jan. 20 as the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office.
His conviction left the 78-year-old facing the possibility of punishment ranging from a fine or probation to up to four years in prison.
The case centered on how Trump accounted for reimbursing his personal attorney for the Daniels payment.
The lawyer, Michael Cohen, fronted the money. He later recouped it through a series of payments that Trump鈥檚 company logged as legal expenses. Trump, by then in the White House, signed most of the checks himself.
Prosecutors said the designation was meant to cloak the true purpose of the payments and help cover up a broader effort to keep voters from hearing unflattering claims about the Republican during his first campaign.
Trump said that Cohen was legitimately paid for legal services, and that Daniels鈥� story was suppressed to avoid embarrassing Trump鈥檚 family, not to influence the electorate.
Trump was a private citizen 鈥� campaigning for president, but neither elected nor sworn in 鈥� when Cohen paid Daniels in October 2016. He was president when Cohen was reimbursed, and Cohen testified that they discussed the repayment arrangement in the Oval Office.
Trump, a Republican, has decried the verdict as the 鈥渞igged, disgraceful鈥� result of a 鈥渨itch hunt鈥� pursued by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.
Before Trump鈥檚 November election, his lawyers sought to reverse his conviction for a different reason: a U.S. Supreme Court decision in July that gave presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution. That request was still pending when the election raised new issues.
While urging Merchan to nix the conviction, Trump also sought to move the case to federal court, where he could also assert immunity. A federal judge repeatedly said no, but Trump appealed.
The hush money case was the only one of Trump鈥檚 four criminal indictments to go to trial.
Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith has ended his two federal cases. One pertained to Trump鈥檚 efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss; the other alleged he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
A separate, state-level election interference case in Georgia is largely on hold.
Trump's lawyers argued that Smith鈥檚 decision to dismiss the federal indictments against Trump meant all criminal cases against him must cease immediately. But Merchan said he found that argument unpersuasive, noting that the New York state hush money case was in a 鈥渧astly鈥� different stage.
Michael R. Sisak And Jennifer Peltz, The Associated Press
