Judge upholds Trump’s sentencing in Hush Money case, but signals no jail time

A New York judge on Friday upheld President-elect Donald J. Trump’s criminal conviction but signaled he was inclined to spare him any punishment, a striking development in a case that had spotlighted a series of embarrassing misdeeds and put the former and future president’s freedom in jeopardy. .

The judge, Juan M. Merchan, indicated that he favored a so-called unconditional acquittal of Mr. Trump’s sentence, a rare and lenient alternative to prison or probation. He set a sentencing date of Jan. 10 and ordered Mr. Trump to appear either in person or virtually.

An unconditional discharge would cement Mr. Trump’s status as a felon just weeks before his inauguration — he would be the first to carry the dubious designation into the presidency — though that would dilute the consequences of his crimes.

Unlike a conditional discharge, which allows defendants to walk free if they meet certain requirements, such as maintaining employment or paying restitution, an unconditional discharge would come without conditions. That sentence was written by Justice Merchan an 18-page decision“appears to be the most viable solution to ensure finality and allow the defendant to pursue his appellate options.”

Mr. Trump, who could ask an appeals court to intervene and delay sentencing, faces up to four years in prison. A Manhattan jury convicted him in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records, concluding that he had tried to cover up a sex scandal that threatened to derail his 2016 campaign for president.

Justice Merchan on Friday declined to overturn the jury’s verdict, dismissing Mr. Trump’s claim that his election victory should void his conviction. And last month, the same judge rejected another argument that Mr. Trump had argued, hoping to have the case dismissed: that his sentence had violated a recent Supreme Court ruling that gave presidents broad immunity for their official acts.

Together, Justice Merchan’s two decisions distinguished Mr. Trump’s legal maneuvers upheld the first criminal conviction of a US president and denied him the opportunity to clear his record before returning to the White House.

“Dismissing the indictment and setting aside the jury’s verdict would not serve the concerns expressed by the Supreme Court in its handful of presidential immunity cases, nor would it serve the rule of law,” Judge Merchan wrote in Friday’s ruling. “On the contrary, such a decision would undermine the rule of law in immeasurable ways.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.