A judge declined to dismiss President-elect Trump's conviction in his hush money case on Friday and scheduled sentencing for Jan. 10—just over a week before Inauguration Day. At the same time, Judge Juan Merchan indicated in a written decision that the president-elect will not go to jail, the AP reports. Trump's lawyers had argued that Merchan should throw out the jury's verdict because of the defendant's election victory in November, per CNN, a request the judge denied.
"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," Merchan wrote, per NBC News, "a sentence authorized by the conviction but one the People concede they no longer view as a practicable recommendation." The judge indicated he favors an unconditional discharge for Trump. The president-elect was ordered to appear in person or virtually on the sentencing date.
An unconditional discharge is a rarely imposed, lenient alternative to a jail sentence—or even probation, per the New York Times. The sentence nevertheless would make Trump the first felon to serve as president. He was convicted in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records in a scheme to hide a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors had acknowledged there should be some accommodation for Trump's status as president but wanted the conviction to stand. Merchan's decision appears to be in deference to the Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling.
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