Judge Juan Merchan has ordered President Donald Trump to appear for sentencing on January 10 in the bogus falsified business records case.
Fox News: Judge sets Trump sentencing for January 10
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) January 3, 2025
Merchan issued the order on Friday, demanding that Trump appear for a sentencing hearing just over one week before his inauguration.
The document states that Trump is required to appear either in-person or virtually “following conviction on January 10, 2025, at 9:30 in the morning, at the Courthouse located at 100 Centre Street in New York County.”
Merchan went on to claim that “neither the vacatur of the jury’s verdicts nor dismissal of the indictment are required by the Presidential immunity doctrine, the Presidential Transition Act or the Supremacy Clause” — arguing that Trump and his attorneys’ arguments “are unpersuasive as no compelling factor, consideration or circumstance submitted demonstrate that imposition of sentence would result in an injustice.”
He also noted that “Presidential immunity will likely attach once Defendant takes his Oath of Office” — and thus argued that “it is incumbent upon this Court to set this matter down for the imposition of sentence prior to January 20, 2025,” the day Trump takes office again.
Merchan also pointed out that Trump is unable to appeal his conviction until after he is sentenced.
“This Court must sentence Defendant within a reasonable time following verdict; and Defendant must be permitted to avail himself of every available appeal, a path he has made clear he intends to pursue but which only becomes fully available upon sentencing,” Merchan added.
He proceeded to confirm that the court does not plan to “impose any sentence of incarceration” — arguing that the so-called crimes supposedly merit incarceration, but “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 concluded.
#BreakingNews: Judge Juan Merchan just announced he will be sentencing President-elect Donald Trump on January 10th. pic.twitter.com/2dhZl2oQh4
— Liberacrat™️ (@Liberacrat) January 3, 2025
This ridiculous case against Trump should have never been brought, as legal experts note that the 34 counts of falsifying business records were only misdemeanors and the statute of limitations had already passed — but disgraced Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg elevated them to felonies by claiming that the records were falsified to cover up another crime, and refused to identify the underlying crime. Merchan even went so far as to tell the jury that they didn’t have to agree on the underlying crime to find Trump guilty — which was likely illegal and definitely unethical.
Trump has argued that the conviction should be overturned because much of the evidence in the case should have been inadmissible, as it was protected as “official acts.” It is almost certain that the case will be overturned upon appeal.
