Democrat Judge Orders That Trump Be Sentenced In Hush Money Case Before Inauguration

Judge Juan M. Merchan, who donated money to President Joe Biden, ordered President-elect Donald Trump to appear for sentencing next week in the hush money case, just 10 days before he is set to be inaugurated.

Merchan denied Trump’s motion to vacate the guilty verdict in the highly controversial case that even many Democrats have said should have never been brought.

“While this Court as a matter of law must not make any determination on sentencing prior to giving the parties and Defendants opportunity to be heard, it seems proper at this juncture to make known the Court’s inclination to not impose any sentence of incarceration, a sentence authorized by the conviction but one the People concede they no longer view as a practicable recommendation,” Merchan wrote in his ruling.

He ordered Trump to appear for sentencing “in person or virtually” on January 10, 2025, at 9:30 a.m.

The Associated Press reported that Merchan “indicated [Trump] wouldn’t be jailed.”

He “signaled in a written decision that he’d sentence the former and future president to what’s known as a conditional discharge, in which a case gets dismissed if a defendant avoids rearrest,” the AP reported.

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