President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers have appealed Judge Juan Merchan’s rulings not to dismiss charges against him in the hush money case and stay his Friday sentencing.
The lawyers asked Merchan to stay the sentencing because Trump appealed the judge’s decision. From The Hill:
“By virtue of President Trump’s filing of appellate proceedings raising his claims of Presidential immunity, all proceedings in this Court are automatically stayed by operation of federal constitutional law,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in the new filing, which was made public on Monday.“In the alternative, even if such a stay were discretionary, the Court should grant such a stay. The Court should vacate the sentencing hearing scheduled for January 10, 2025, and suspend all further deadlines in the case until President Trump’s immunity appeals are fully and finally resolved, which should result in a dismissal of this case, which should have never been brought in the first place,” they continued.
A jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts for falsifying business records to pay off Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about their alleged affair.
Merchan refused to throw out the guilty verdict, scheduling the sentencing for January 10, ten days before the inauguration.
Trump’s lawyers want Merchan to stay the sentencing since they plan “to appeal the decision the Appellate Division of the state’s trial court.”
The lawyers argued the appeal triggers an automatic stay.
But if the appeal does not stay the proceedings, the lawyers argued, “Merchan should then grant a pause and prevent sentencing from happening on Friday as scheduled.”
However, Merchan hinted that Trump won’t face any punishment.
Merchan said it’s “proper at this juncture” to let everyone know that it’s 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.”
“As such; in balancing the aforementioned considerations in conjunction with the underlying concerns of the Presidential immunity doctrine, a sentence of an unconditional discharge appears to be the most viable solution to ensure finality and allow Defendant to pursue his appellate options,” Merchan added.
In New York, an unconditional discharge means the court found someone committed the crime, but thinks a punishment doesn’t serve a purpose.
That means Trump won’t serve prison time, fine, or probation supervision.
However, it means Trump will be a felon.
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