Trump’s sentencing is set for Jan. 10. Here’s what could happen next

NEW YORK– Faced with the unprecedented dilemma of how, when and even whether to convict a former and future American president, the judge in President-elect Donald Trump ‘s hush money case made a dramatic decision that could nonetheless bring the case to a muted conclusion.

In a statement FridayManhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan sentencing scheduled ten days before Trump’s inauguration — but the judge indicated he was leaning toward a sentence that would amount to closing the case without any real punishment. He said Trump was able to attend the Jan. 10 proceedings remotely because of his transition duties.

Yet it would mean that Trump would return to the White House with a felony conviction.

Will it come to this? Trump wants the conviction and the case was dismissed, with communications director Steven Cheung saying the president-elect “will keep fighting.” But it is difficult to predict what exactly will happen in this unprecedented, unpredictable case. Here are some key questions and what we know about the answers:

Trump was convicted in May 34 felony counts of falsifying his company’s records. They related to a $130,000 payment made through his former personal attorney in 2016. to prevent porn actor Stormy Daniels from making public her story about having sex with Trump ten years earlier. He denies her claim and says he did nothing wrong.

Trump’s sentencing was initially set for July 11. But at the request of his lawyers, the procedure was carried out anyway postponed twiceand finally landed on a date in late November, after the presidential election. Then Trump won, and Merchan put everything on hold to consider what to do.

Merchan denied Trump’s request to dismiss the conviction and the entire case. The judge ordered Trump to appear — virtually or in person, as he prefers — for sentencing on Jan. 10 at 9:30 a.m.

That won’t be final until the judge rules, and he noted that by law he must give prosecutors and Trump a chance to voice their opinions. The charge carries penalties ranging from a fine or probation to up to four years in prison. .

But the judge wrote that “the most viable option” appears to be a so-called unconditional release. This concludes a case without jail time, fines or probation. But an unconditional release leaves the suspect’s conviction on the books.

And by law, every person convicted of a crime in New York must provide a DNA sample for the state’s crime database, even if released without parole.

It’s dark. Appealing a conviction or sentence is one thing, but the ins and outs of appealing other types of decisions during a case are complicated.

Former Manhattan judge Diane Kiesel said Friday’s ruling cannot be appealed under New York law, but that “doesn’t mean he’s not going to try.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyers are trying to get a federal court to take over the case. Prosecutors will file a response with the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals by Jan. 13, three days after Trump is now set to be sentenced.

The defense has also suggested it would seek the intervention of the U.S. Supreme Court if Merchan did not dismiss the case. In a November 25 letter to the judge, Trump’s lawyers argued that the US Constitution allows an appeal to the Supreme Court because the defense arguments about presidential immunity.

Much of their argument is about the Supreme Court ruling in July on that subject, which provided presidents with significant legal protection. Trump’s lawyers could try to convince the Supreme Court to take action by getting involved in the hush money case now.

A Trump spokesperson said no decision has yet been made on whether to challenge Merchan’s ruling.

They declined to comment on Merchan’s statement. They had previously encouraged him to uphold the sentence and offered options such as delaying sentencing until Trump left office, promising no prison time, or closing the case by noting that he was convicted but never sentenced because of the presidential immunity. Merchan said he found those ideas untenable.

Yes. But according to the law, he is not allowed to do that until he is convicted.

Not in this case. Presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes. Trump was convicted in a state court in New York.