OAN Staff James Myers
3:28 PM – Friday, January 3, 2025
President-elect Donald Trump will reportedly be sentenced on January 10th.th A judge issued a ruling Friday in his so-called “hush money” lawsuit. The judge also said he would not jail him.
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Judge Juan Melchan said he did not intend to dismiss the case despite Trump's victory over Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. The verdict will be handed down just 10 days before the inauguration.
Trump's lawyers had argued that the issue would impede his ability to govern during his presidency. But overturning the jury's decision would “incalculably undermine the rule of law,” Marchan said.
Trump supporters, meanwhile, praised the president-elect's strength and perseverance in the ongoing “lawfare” case, blaming it on politics and Democratic efforts to prevent him from becoming president. It is claimed that.
Marchan, who will soon return to the White House, has rejected pressure from Trump to dismiss the verdict and throw out the case, citing presidential immunity. Judge Marchan went on to find that there was “no legal impediment to sentencing” Trump, arguing that it was his “obligation” to sentence him before he was sworn in on January 20th.th.
The interests of justice can only be served “by putting an end to this problem,” Marchand wrote.
In May, Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records for conspiring to conceal hush money payments to veteran porn star Stormy Daniels during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign. I received it.
President Trump denied the allegations and categorically declared her story false.
After winning the November election, Marchand suspended proceedings and postponed sentencing indefinitely so the defense and prosecution could discuss the future of the case.
Mr. Trump's lawyers again implored Mr. Marchand to destroy the documents. They argued that this would create an unconstitutional “disruption” of the president-elect's ability to run the United States.
Prosecutors acknowledged that some consideration was needed for his second presidential term, but later argued that the conviction should be upheld. Prosecutors proposed several options, including discontinuing the case during his term and guaranteeing no prison sentence.
President Trump faced possible penalties including hefty fines, suspended sentences, or up to four years in prison.
Prosecutors are focusing on allegations that Trump concealed a $130,000 payment to Daniels from his lawyer Michael Cohen, who said he had a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006. He is said to have tried to silence her from saying she had it.
“Rather than setting an example of respect for the law, Michael Cohen is a lawyer who has repeatedly broken the law in a variety of ways over the years. It is a reminder that there is a set of rules that apply equally to all,” said former Deputy U.S. Attorney Robert Koutham.
Critics say Attorney General Alvin Bragg used “unconventional and elaborate legal theory” that led Trump supporters to view the case as a selective and biased prosecution of the president-elect. The theory of the case was that Trump's crimes were “multilayered.”
Bragg's office argues that the “catch-and-kill” benefits violate a vague New York state election law that prohibits “conspiring to promote or prevent the election of any person by 'unlawful means.'” did.
But in that case, critics scratched their heads because the court did not ask jurors to select a specific illegal measure on their verdict forms, leaving critics scratching their heads and wondering why the jury “unanimously” found Trump guilty. This sparked debate that it was not.
Throughout the process, President Trump repeatedly declared the trial a “witch hunt” orchestrated by Democrats, and also claimed that the trial was completely “rigged” against him.
Marchan donated $35 to the Democratic caucus in 2020, including $15 to President Joe Biden, records show. Additionally, Judge Marchand's daughter Lauren is publicly known to work for Democratic causes, campaigns, and politicians.
Still, Marchand insisted politics had nothing to do with his decision.
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