Trump should be sentenced for money laundering, says judge says he should not go to jail Reuters

By Luke Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump pleaded guilty on Jan. 10 to a felony count of hush money paid to a sex film star, but will not face jail time or other penalties, a judge said on Friday.

Justice Juan Mercan’s ruling means Trump will have to appear in court on January 20, 2006, 10 days before his inauguration — an unprecedented situation in American history. Before Trump, no US president — former or sitting — had been indicted or charged with a crime.

The judge said Trump, 78, could appear in person at the sentencing.

He wrote that he was not inclined to sentence Trump to prison, and that an “unconditional dismissal” — meaning no probation, fines or probation — would be the “best solution.”

At issue is the $130,000 that Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen paid actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, which he has denied. A jury in May found Trump guilty of falsifying records to hide payments made before the 2016 election.

The sentence paves the way for Trump to appeal. Mercan acknowledged that Trump made it clear that he intended to appeal the decision.

In a post on the reality social network earlier on Saturday, Trump said he had never falsified business records.

Trump wrote: “Biden/Harris injustice impeached by corrupt judge doing department job.” He created an issue where none existed.

Trump dismissed the case after winning the presidential election and announced his plans to issue a sentencing hearing. Trump’s defense attorneys argued that having the case hang on him during his presidency would hinder his ability to govern.

Mercan rejected that argument, writing that setting aside the jury verdict would “immeasurably weaken the rule of law.”

“The (court’s) power to be president-elect of the accused does not require a serious and ‘rare’ application,” Mershan wrote in the decision.

In a Dec. 3, 2010 hearing, Mercan rejected Trump’s argument that his firing was necessary because of his “civic and financial contributions to this city and nation.”

While acknowledging Trump’s service as president, the judge said Trump’s public statements promoting the justice system were also a factor for him to determine what role Trump’s behavior would play in the decision.

Mercan has challenged the validity of Trump’s criminal charges, criticizing Trump’s “relentless and unsubstantiated attacks” and said he was found guilty at trial on 10 counts of repeatedly violating an order restricting statements about witnesses outside of court. And so on.

“The defendant has gone to great lengths to communicate his disrespect for judges, magistrates, the chief justice and the justice system as a whole on social media and other platforms,” ​​Mershan wrote.

“The character and history of the accused must be analyzed from the perspective of the rule of law and the third body of the state,” the judge said, referring to the judiciary. “In that vein, it doesn’t weigh in his favor.”

‘Excellent Solution’

In May, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover payments to Daniels. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the Democratic prosecutor who has pleaded not guilty, called the case an attempt to damage his 2024 campaign.

Trump’s sentencing was originally scheduled for July 11, 2024, but has been repeatedly pushed back. Mercan said on Thursday that Trump’s request in August to delay the punishment until after the election showed his willingness to punish during the transition.

“Any claim by the Defendant that circumstances have changed as a result of the Defendant’s presidential election is without merit,” Mercan wrote.

Bragg did not object to the sentence being delayed until after the election. In September they pushed Merca to November 26.

After Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election, the judge delayed the sentencing indefinitely to determine next steps.

Bragg’s office has argued that there are less-than-stellar solutions to overturning the jury’s verdict that could ease the threat of Trump being distracted by criminal cases while he is president, such as delaying the sentencing until after Trump leaves the White House in 2029. .

Mercan wrote on Thursday that he found an alternative to judging Trump before his inauguration “desirable.”

Presidential immunity

Trump on Dec. 16 lost a separate bid to overturn the hush money penalty, arguing that presidents cannot be charged with crimes in their official capacity and that evidence of their official acts cannot be introduced in criminal cases, according to the U.S. Supreme Court’s July 1 ruling. personal character.

Mercan, who denied Trump’s motion to disqualify, said prosecutors “do not risk intruding on the authority and functions of the executive branch to falsify business records through private decisions.”

Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years in prison, but no jail time is required. Before he won the election, legal experts said Trump had no criminal record and could not be arrested because of his age.

Trump in 2016 In 2023, he was indicted in three other state and federal criminal cases: one involving classified documents he kept after leaving office and two others involving his efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss.

He pleaded not guilty to all three counts. The Justice Department moved to dismiss the two federal cases after Trump’s election.

Trump’s federal criminal charges have been looming over allegations that he tried to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia.