The Manhattan judge who oversaw Donald Trump’s “hush money” criminal trial is expected to announce next week if the president-elect’s historic felony conviction will still stand.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan had already delayed sentencing by more than four months to come after the election — and gave himself until next Tuesday to decide if the conviction should be tossed.
Donald Trump sits at the defendant’s table inside Manhattan Criminal Court during jury deliberations on May 29, 2024. Getty Images
Trump’s overwhelming election win will further embolden his legal team “to make sure that sentencing never happens,” CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid noted late Wednesday.
“Here, they’re going to argue to the judge that the sentencing should never happen because now that Trump is president-elect,” Reid noted.
“They will say that he is entitled to the same constitutional protections as a sitting president and should be protected from state actors, and in this case, state prosecutors.”
Trump, 78, faces up to four years in prison after being convicted of 34 counts of felony falsifying business records to cover up payments to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Judge Juan Merchan is considering tossing out Donald Trump’s felony convictions following Tuesday’s election results. AP
President-elect Donald Trump speaks to supporters alongside wife Melania at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on Nov. 6, 2024. APLegal experts have already predicted Trump won’t face hard time.
“Merchan doesn’t have the stomach to imprison a former president or president-elect,” former prosecutor Neama Rahmani said.
“Now that Trump has won, his criminal problems go away.”
