Trump faces criminal sentencing before returning to the White House!

In an unusual turn, Judge Juan Merchan on Friday scheduled President-elect Donald Trump’s sentencing in the secret “hush money” case for January 10, days before his scheduled return to the White House. However, the issued statement confirmed that the sentence would not include imprisonment.

This development puts Trump on a path to become the first American president to take office while convicted of criminal crimes. Trump was convicted in a previous trial last year on charges of falsifying business records to pay a $130,000 bribe paid by his then-personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Judge Merchan indicated that he would sentence Trump to supervised release, meaning the case could be dismissed if the defendant avoids re-arrest. The judge also rejected Trump’s attempts to overturn the ruling on grounds of presidential immunity, while stressing that there was “no legal impediment to the ruling” before Trump was sworn in on January 20.

According to the decision, Trump has the option of appearing in person or virtually for sentencing next week. “It is appropriate at this stage,” Merchan said in his ruling. He expressed the court’s inclination not to impose any prison sentence, noting that the penalties that had been approved still represented a legal problem and were no longer considered a practical recommendation by the people.

The judge had previously ruled on September 6 that a ruling would not be entered against Trump in the New York criminal hush money case until after the November presidential election, reflecting the complex path the president-elect faces amid ongoing legal issues.