A judge has ordered that US President-elect Donald Trump be sentenced on 10 January in his hush-money case in New York. The sentencing will be less than two weeks before Trump is set to be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States.
According to a BBC report, New York Judge Juan Merchan signalled he would not sentence Trump to jail time, probation or a fine but instead give him an “unconditional discharge” and wrote in his order that the president-elect could appear in person or virtually for the hearing.
The report states that Trump attempted to use his presidential election victory to have the case against him dismissed.
The president-elect has posted on social media dismissing the judge’s order as an “illegitimate political attack” and calling the case “nothing but a rigged charade”.
Trump was convicted in May last year of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 (£105,000) payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The charges related to attempts to cover up reimbursements to his ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen, who, in the final days of the 2016 election campaign, paid off the adult film star to remain silent about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
The president-elect has denied all wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty, arguing the case was an attempt to harm his 2024 presidential campaign.
