Trump had attempted to use his presidential election victory to have the case against him dismissed.
“There should be no sentencing, and President Trump will continue fighting against these hoaxes until they are all dead.”
In his latest motion against the case, Trump had argued the case would hang over him during his presidency and impede his ability to govern.
However, last month Justice Merchan ruled Trump’s hush money conviction was valid.
The president-elect was initially scheduled to be sentenced on 26 November, but Justice Merchan pushed the date back after Trump won the presidential election.
Less than two weeks before he is scheduled to take the oath of office as president, a judge in New York has mandated that Donald Trump be sentenced in his hush-money case on January 10.
The president-elect may attend the hearing in person or virtually, according to New York Justice Juan Merchan’s order, which also indicated that he would grant Trump an “unconditional discharge” rather than jail time, probation, or a fine.
Trump had tried to have the case against him dropped by using his victory in the presidential election.
The president-elect has called the case “nothing but a rigged charade” and dismissed the judge’s order as an “illegitimate political attack” in a social media post.
In May, Trump was found guilty of 34 felonies involving the falsification of business records in connection with the payment of $130,000 (£105,000) to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star.
The charges concerned efforts to conceal payments made to his former attorney, Michael Cohen, who, in the closing days of the 2016 election campaign, bought the adult film star’s silence regarding a rumored sexual encounter with Trump.
The president-elect pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing, claiming the case was an attempt to hurt his chances of winning the presidency in 2024.
On Saturday, Trump claimed that the judge’s sentencing decision “goes against our Constitution and, if allowed to stand, would be the end of the Presidency as we know it” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Steven Cheung, Trump’s spokesperson, previously referred to the order as a “witch hunt.”.
Cheung stated, “President Trump must be permitted to proceed with the presidential transition process and to carry out the essential responsibilities of the presidency, free from the lingering effects of this or any traces of the witch hunts.”.
“President Trump will keep fighting these hoaxes until they are all dead, and there should be no sentencing.”. “.
In his most recent motion to dismiss the case, Trump claimed it would follow him throughout his presidency and make it more difficult for him to lead.
In lieu of the “extreme remedy” of overturning the jury’s verdict, Justice Merchan said he had been given a number of options that could allay Trump’s worries about being sidetracked by a criminal case while in office.
His choices were to postpone the sentencing until 2029, when Trump, then 78, will leave the White House, or to ensure a sentence free of jail time.
In the beginning, Trump had unsuccessfully claimed that the case against him violated a Supreme Court decision regarding presidential immunity.
Presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution for “official actions” they take while in office, according to a July ruling by the nation’s highest court.
But last month, Justice Merchan declared that Trump’s conviction for hush money was legitimate.
As of right now, Trump is expected to become the first person with a criminal record to hold the presidency.
He might try to challenge the conviction following the sentencing.
In the United States, fabricating business records carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison; however, there is no minimum sentence and incarceration is not necessary.
Trump’s age and past legal history made legal experts doubt that he would be imprisoned even before he won the election.
Trump has also been charged in three additional state and federal criminal cases, two of which are related to his purported attempts to reverse his 2020 election defeat and one of which involves classified documents.
Justice Merchan postponed the president-elect’s sentencing date after Trump won the election. The original date was set for November 26.
