Trump Could Attend January 10 Trial In Person or Virtually, Judge Says
Disgraced former President Donald Trump could attend his criminal trial in New York City either in person or virtually on January 10, according to Judge Juan Merchan. The judge, in an 18-page ruling, rejected various defense arguments challenging Trump’s conviction on 34 counts related to a "hush money" scheme.
Merchan signaled a willingness to impose a sentence of time served without jail time, but Trump, if convicted, would still assume the presidency on January 20 as a disgraced criminal. "Given these circumstances, it seems advisable to defer a decision on jail time," Merchan said, noting that prosecutors also didn’t push for jail time in this case.
Trump was found guilty in May on all 34 counts by a New York jury in a trial centered around his attorney Michael Cohen‘s role in paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about their alleged affair in 2006. This made Trump the first former and newly elected U.S. president to be convicted of criminal charges.
The trial revealed that Cohen made false entries to hide the true purpose of the payments, which were intended to silence Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump’sorientee was labeled as a campaign expenditure, violating federal election laws.
However, Trump’s conviction did not bar him from running for president again, as he secured a decisive victory in the November 5 election. The sentencing in this case was initially scheduled for November 26 but Merchan delayed it indefinitely on November 22. Trump attempted to block the case before his inauguration.
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