Donald Trump will be sentenced in his hush money cover-up trial, 10 days before he is sworn in as the next U.S. President.
In May, Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The President-elect repeatedly tried to dismiss the criminal charges and delay his sentencing.
Trump’s lawyers have already flagged they will appeal the judge’s sentence.
The case
When Trump ran for President in 2016, he arranged for a series of payments to be sent to adult film star Stormy Daniels totalling $US130,000 ($AU208,000).
Daniels claims she had sex with Trump 10 years before his 2016 election bid, which he denied.
Prosecutors said Trump made the payments via his lawyer, Michael Cohen, as part of an effort to conceal negative stories about him in the lead-up to the election. The payments were disguised as legitimate expenses.
In April last year, a six-week criminal trial over the cover-up of the payments was held in the state of New York.
Trump pleaded not guilty, accusing the prosecutors of launching a “political witch hunt” and later claiming the trial was “rigged”.
After the trial, a jury declared Trump guilty on all 34 counts.
Delays
New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan initially said he would hand down his sentence in July 2024.
Merchan was delayed by multiple legal developments, including a Supreme Court ruling that U.S. presidents are immune from criminal responsibility when undertaking official duties.
Sentencing was then delayed until after the November presidential election. After Trump won the election, his lawyers further argued that he couldn’t be prosecuted while he is the President-elect.
Sentencing
This week, Judge Merchan dismissed Trump’s efforts to delay the sentencing in his trial.
Merchan called Trump’s legal arguments “unpersuasive”, saying that sentencing him wouldn’t amount to an “injustice”.
As President, Trump has the power to intervene in certain federal cases. This case, however, was brought at the state level, meaning he can’t stop the sentencing from going ahead.
What now?
Judge Merchan will hand down his sentence on 10 January.
Merchan said he plans to impose an “unconditional discharge” against Trump. This means Trump is unlikely to face jail time, fines, or probation (police supervision).
The discharge acts as a way of recording Trump’s criminal conviction, without imposing any serious penalty.
Trump’s lawyers have already said he will file an appeal.
