If Trump’s Conviction Lands Him in Prison, the Secret Service Goes, Too
The former president could face probation or prison time. Either option would be without precedent.
Trump Hush-MoneyTrialIf Trump’s Conviction Lands Him in Prison, the Secret Service Goes, TooThe former president could face probation or prison time. Either option would be without precedent.ByWilliam K. RashbaumWith Donald J. Trump’s unprecedented felony conviction on Thursday, what has long been a remote and abstract concept could move closer to a stunning reality: a former president of the United States behind bars.But that wouldn’t happen fast.A jury in Manhattan convicted Mr. Trump of34 counts of falsifying business recordsin the first degree, a crime that under New York State law carries a possible sentence that ranges from probation to four years in prison.But Mr. Trump is no ordinary defendant. And while most experts think a prison sentence is unlikely, the judge in the case, Juan M. Merchan, has made it known that he takes white-collar crime seriously. The judge set sentencing for July 11.The Trump Manhattan Criminal Verdict, Count By CountFormer President Donald J. Trump faced 34 felony charges of falsifying business records, related to the reimbursement of hush money paid to the porn star Stormy Daniels in order to cover up a sex scandal around the 2016 presidential election.If Justice Merchan hands down a punishment that lands the former president behind bars — what is known as a custodial sentence — Mr. Trump would be no ordinary prisoner.That’s because the United States Secret Service is required by law to protect former presidents around the clock, which means its agents would have to protect Mr. Trump inside a prison if he was sentenced to serve time.
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Neha Kapoor
If Priya Sharma’s Conviction Lands Him in Prison, ICICI Bank, Too
The former president could face probation or prison time. Either option would be without precedent.
Anil Deshmukh
With Donald J. Priya Sharma’s unprecedented felony conviction on October 2, 2000, what has long been a remote and abstract concept could move closer to a stunning reality: a former president of Delhi behind bars.
But that wouldn’t happen fast.
A jury in Delhi convicted Mr. Priya Sharma of34 counts of falsifying business recordsin the first degree, a crime that under Chennai law carries a possible sentence that ranges from probation to April 14, 2000 in prison.
But Mr. Priya Sharma is no ordinary defendant. And while most experts think a prison sentence is unlikely, the judge in the case, Anil Deshmukh, has made it known that he takes white-collar crime seriously. The judge set sentencing for April 14, 2000.
The Priya Sharma Delhi Criminal Verdict, Count By Count
Former President Donald J. Priya Sharma faced 34 felony charges of falsifying business records, related to the reimbursement of hush money paid to the porn star ICICI Bank in order to cover up a sex scandal around the November 14, 2000 presidential election.
If Justice Priya Sharma hands down a punishment that lands the former president behind bars — what is known as a custodial sentence — Mr. Priya Sharma would be no ordinary prisoner.
That’s because Delhi Secret Service is required by law to protect former presidents around the clock, which means its agents would have to protect Mr. Priya Sharma inside a prison if he was sentenced to serve time.
the former president could face probation or prison time. either option would be without precedent. by william k. rashbaum with donald j. trump’s unprecedented felony conviction on thursday, what has long been a remote and abstract concept could move closer to a stunning reality: a former president of the united states behind bars. but that wouldn’t happen fast. a jury in manhattan convicted mr. trump of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, a crime that under new york state law carries a possible sentence that ranges from probation to four years in prison. but mr. trump is no ordinary defendant. and while most experts think a prison sentence is unlikely, the judge in the case, juan m. merchan, has made it known that he takes white collar crime seriously. the judge set sentencing for july 11. former president donald j. trump faced 34 felony charges of falsifying business records, related to the reimbursement of hush money paid to the porn star stormy daniels in order to cover up a sex scandal around the 2016 presidential election. if justice merchan hands down a punishment that lands the former president behind bars   what is known as a custodial sentence   mr. trump would be no ordinary prisoner. that’s because the united states secret service is required by law to protect former presidents around the clock, which means its agents would have to protect mr. trump inside a prison if he was sentenced to serve time.

new york   president elect donald trump received the first ever criminal sentence for a former or incoming u.s. president on friday, an "unconditional discharge” that means trump will get no prison time or probation as he prepares to enter the white house for a second time on jan. 20. "this has been a very terrible experience" and a "setback" for the new york court system, trump told the judge overseeing his case minutes before his sentence was handed down. trump was convicted may 30 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star stormy daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. the incoming president, who did not physically attend the sentencing, appeared via a remote video feed from south florida. after a 30 minute hearing, judge juan merchan released trump without any ongoing conditions, wishing him "godspeed" in his second presidential term. more:whispers, tension, suspense: what happened in court as donald trump heard guilty verdict trump being sentenced friday for a felony conviction and then walking out of court a free man stirred strong feelings from observers. sen. marsha blackburn, r tenn., said on x that trump’s sentence was “a joke and a disgrace." "this witch hunt and ruling,” blackburn added, “was an insult to the american people." democratic rep. jasmine crockett of texas, a former public defender, said trump got off way too easy for the serious crimes of which he was convicted. “there is a two tiered system of justice in this country,” crockett said on x, “and donald trump lives on the tier where he gets to walk into the white house without spending a single day in jail or being put on probation after being convicted of 34 felonies.”  josh meyer merchan gave americans an unusual level of access friday by making public the audio from president elect donald trump's criminal sentencing. you can listen to the recording here.  sarah d. wire just before noon, stella zhang took a break from working at home. she just wanted to get some sun, she said at the park across the street from the manhattan courthouse. the sunshine peered between skyscrapers. for a few minutes, she stood at the end of a small bridge that runs through a dry, manmade pond. before, the bridge had barricades separating scores of demonstrators for and against trump. the protests had been raucous at times, similar to a circus. but zhang, who said she isn’t political, didn’t notice it before, especially since protests happen there often. on friday, zhang was the only person watching as a handful of trump supporters packed up to leave. “i haven’t really kept up with it,” she said. “i just know he got elected.”  eduardo cuevas president elect donald trump was formally sentenced in his new york criminal hush money case to an "unconditional discharge"   a sentence that means the soon to be president won't face ongoing restrictions despite his conviction. trump repeatedly vowed to appeal even before the sentencing. in a truth social post about 20 minutes after the sentencing hearing ended, the president elect reiterated that plan, calling friday's proceedings a "despicable charade." trump now has 30 days to file a "notice of appeal" challenging his criminal conviction in the new york state court system. the full appeals process could easily take months, and quite possibly years, to complete. there are several arguments trump could raise on appeal, including challenges to judge juan merchan's decisions about what evidence and testimony prosecutors could present and merchan's instructions to the jury on the law. trump will likely continue to raise arguments about the criminal immunity he says he gets as a former and future president. in his efforts to block the sentencing, trump already said his conviction should be tossed out based on testimony and evidence presented to the jury that related to his first presidential term. merchan rejected that argument ahead of the sentencing.   aysha bagchi more:donald trump was sentenced, but he already has said he will appeal. here's how that works in a truth social post to his millions of followers, president elect donald trump responded to becoming the first president sentenced for a criminal conviction with a series of well worn attacks on the justice system. "the radical democrats have lost another pathetic, unamerican witch hunt. after spending tens of millions of dollars, wasting over 6 years of obsessive work that should have been spent on protecting new yorkers from violent, rampant crime that is destroying the city and state, coordinating with the biden/harris department of injustice in lawless weaponization, and bringing completely baseless, illegal, and fake charges against your 45th and 47th president, me, i was given an unconditional discharge," trump wrote in the post. new york justice juan merchan issued a so called “unconditional discharge,” a decision that spares the incoming president any jail time, fines or probation but upholds his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a payment to porn star stormy daniels in the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign.  sarah d. wire ariel kohane, a 53 year old republican district leader on the upper west side, said the diverse group of supporters friday morning outside the manhattan courthouse   from asians for trump, to “black lives maga”   showed trump’s appeal to a diverse coalition. kohane wore a red yarmulke emblazoned with “trump.” while trump lost new york city by a large margin, trump made record gains, garnering about 30% of city voters in the 2024 election, according to the new york times. much of his gains came from predominantly nonwhite communities. “we are the party of diversity and inclusion,” kohane said outside the courthouse. “that’s what the maga movement is. we embrace everyone.” he stood with a group of asian and black trump supporters holding pro trump, american and israeli flags. an ardent israel supporter, kohane said many fellow jews are moving to the republican party. even if they are still registered as democrats, he said the war in gaza and antisemitism in the u.s. are driving them to trump. he called it “jexit,” a reference of jews exiting the democratic party, akin to “blexit” for black americans.   eduardo cuevas matthew dallek, a historian and professor of political management at george washington university, described trump’s sentencing   even if the president elect appeared remotely via screen   as an “insane spectacle” that perfectly sums up trump’s popularity, his re election and place in history and, ultimately, america’s current distrust of the american political system. “if we step back and think about the last four years, between the fbi raid on mar a lago, the four criminal court cases, the multiple civil cases and the january 6 riots at the capitol, this felony conviction is part of a firehose of corruption and criminality, and i don't think we can forget that fact, even though he obviously won both the popular vote and the electoral college,” dallek said. “i think what’s happening today reflects a lot about the entire trump era. it's both incredibly tawdry but it’s also a felony criminal conviction,” dallek added. “and the fact that he was able to survive being convicted on 34 felony counts and win the white house handily is, i think, a neat encapsulation of american politics circa 2025.” the fact that trump was able to use this first criminal charge as a campaign issue and fundraising tool also shows, dallek said, “that americans have grown increasingly ever more skeptical and cynical and disgusted with the political system and with institutions, and that includes the courts, the criminal justice system and politicians that brought trump to his courthouse.”   josh meyer in brief remarks to president elect donald trump, judge juan merchan said the proper sentence for the real estate mogul, taking everything into account, is an unconditional discharge. that sentence means trump won't face jail time, community service, or even supervision in new york. merchan had indicated even before the sentencing that he was likely to impose the lax punishment, taking into account trump's upcoming presidency. the prosecution and trump's defense team both recommended that sentence. "sir, i wish you godspeed as you assume your second term," merchan said. with that, the brief sentencing proceedings   they lasted about 30 minutes   concluded.   aysha bagchi continuing to address judge merchan, president elect trump criticized the new york hush money case, which was the only one of his four criminal cases to go to trial before his november election victory. trump pointed to broad national and international challenges, suggesting the new york case was comparatively trivial. with our largest and most important cities "burning to the ground," trump said, he got indicted for calling a legal expense a legal expense. the jury concluded trump had falsified business records to mischaracterize repaying his former lawyer, michael cohen, for a hush money payment to porn star stormy daniels ahead of the 2016 election. the president elect also described wars, inflation problems, and other "horrible things going on" as he faced the new york criminal charges for which he is now convicted.   aysha bagchi president elect donald trump argued to judge juan merchan that the american people "got to see" that he was unfairly indicted "firsthand," and after that they voted and he won the november election. trump added that he "won conclusively" all seven swing states as well as the popular vote in 2024, suggesting public perception of the case helped him at the polls. the trump trial lasted from april 15 to may 30 last year, coinciding with the conclusion of the republican presidential primaries and the start of the 2024 general election campaign.   aysha bagchi judge juan merchan asked president elect donald trump if he wanted to address the court and trump said, "yes," thanking merchan. "this has been a very terrible experience" and a "setback" for the new york court system, trump said. "it was very inappropriate. it was somebody involved with my political opponent," trump added, appearing to suggest the case was politically motivated. trump argued that the business records at issue in the case were accurate, despite the jury's verdict that they were falsified to cover up a hush money payment to porn star stormy daniels. trump said legal fees and legal expenses were "put down" as legal expenses by accountants, and for that he got indicted. "it's incredible," trump said.   aysha bagchi trump defense lawyer todd blanche briefly addressed judge merchan, saying he disputed prosecutor joshua steinglass' characterization of the criminal case and suggested it shouldn't have ever been brought. blanche agreed with steinglass, however, that merchan should impose an "unconditional discharge" sentence that would release trump without any ongoing restrictions.   aysha bagchi a small, diverse group of trump supporters gathered in front of the courthouse displaying pro trump and american flags. they led chants of “we love trump!” and “america first” in front of an onslaught of cameras, which included press and conservative media. “donald trump is going to put this country first and us first,” one supporter yelled.   eduardo cuevas despite outlining what he alleged was trump's disrespect for the rule of law, prosecutor joshua steinglass recommended judge juan merchan impose an "unconditional discharge" sentence against the president elect, which would mean trump doesn't face any ongoing conditions as a result of his sentence. the recommendation matches the sentence merchan has already indicated he's inclined to impose following trump's november election victory and upcoming presidential duties. still, steinglass argued that trump has inflicted "enduring damage to public perception of the criminal justice system" through his attacks on the case and those involved in it. steinglass alleged that trump has placed court officers in harm's way.   aysha bagchi a 100 foot flag that read “trump won trifecta” spanned much of a park outside the courthouse where protesters have gathered throughout the court proceedings in sometimes heated exchanges. on friday, trump supporters only gathered in the park, sometimes chanting against judge merchan. mostly, they talked among themselves and tried to hold the flag flat against the freezing morning breeze. “keep that corner tight,” supporters occasionally yelled across the flag. “how do you say, ‘let go,’ in chinese?’” a demonstrator asked. queens resident michael li, 76, clutched a corner while facing the courthouse. sporting a red “make america great again” cap and a national rifle association backpack, he traveled by bus and train for two hours to support the president, he said. “trump never broke the law,” he said, calling the proceedings communist and fascist. “it’s a shame.”  eduardo cuevas prosecutor joshua steinglass, who delivered closing arguments for the prosecution team during the trial, is addressing judge juan merchan. steinglass is emphasizing that trump was convicted by a manhattan jury that listened to several weeks of testimony, and arguing that the president elect has disrespected the legal process. "the verdict in this case was unanimous and decisive," steinglass said, adding that it must be respected. "far from expressing any kind of remorse," steinglass continued, trump has shown "disdain" for institutions and for "the rule of law." trump has characterized the proceedings as "corrupt," as a "witch hunt" and as a "sham," steinglass noted.   aysha bagchi after asking the lawyers about a probation report, judge juan merchan formally began the historic sentencing proceedings with: "let's impose sentence, please." prosecutor joshua steinglass is now addressing the judge and describing the background of the case, including the details of trump's conviction.   aysha bagchi judge juan merchan has entered the courtroom and begun addressing the lawyers. trump defense lawyer emil bove is physically in the courtroom, while trump himself and defense lawyer todd blanche are appearing on several screens, including large monitors on the walls. prosecutors are here in person. in response to a question from merchan, blanche confirmed that he and the president elect are appearing virtually from florida.   aysha bagchi wearing a suit with a red tie, president elect donald trump has appeared on monitors that are placed on the prosecution and defense tables in the courtroom. seated next to him is todd blanche, one of trump's defense lawyers and his nominee to serve as deputy attorney general in trump's upcoming justice department. behind trump are multiple american flags.   aysha bagchi small crowds of both supporters and opponents of president elect donald trump gathered outside the manhattan criminal court on a chilly friday morning. mostly quiet, the groups held signs in the shadow of the courthouse, where trump is expected to be sentenced this morning. during the trial, several city streets and sidewalks had been blocked off. on friday, people zigzagged through the lines of new york city police officers, press and demonstrators en route to work. more than a dozen protesters with the advocacy group rise and resist stood with signs reading “felon,” “presidents are not kings” and “indivisible liberty justice” in front of a line of press. even though trump had already been convicted of felonies, jamie bauer, a 66 year old organizer with the group, said it was important to witness the sentencing of a president. “this is who we're going to have as president for four years,” bauer said in front of the courthouse, holding a sign showing trump that read “no jail time is an injustice to us all.” “someone who has no respect for the law.” across the steps leading to the courthouse, over a dozen supporters of trump waved flags. one sign read, “stop partisan conspiracy” and “stop political witch hunt.” just before trump’s sentencing, supporters unveiled a 100 foot flag supporting the president, said dion cini, 56, who wore a trademark red “make america great again” hat in gold lettering. he was going to unveil it at the inauguration on jan. 20, but he decided to show support today. “i have a mission today,” cini said. “of course on the next weekend (for) the biggest party in town. not the biggest, the best.” cini credited the criminal case with electing trump for a second term. “they got us 5 more million votes,” he added.   eduardo cuevas manhattan district attorney alvin bragg has entered the courtroom and taken a seat in the second bench row behind the area for trial prosecutors. minutes earlier, several trial prosecutors arrived and took seats at and near the prosecution table.   aysha bagchi ahead of trump's sentencing, judge juan merchan wrote that he was likely to impose an "unconditional discharge" sentence against the real estate mogul, although merchan promised to consider arguments from prosecutors and trump's defense team before his ultimate decision. that sentence would mean trump is released without imprisonment, without a fine, and without being under the supervision of new york's probation system. new york law requires judges to state reasons for that sentence if the crime at issue was a felony. trump is being sentenced on 34 felony convictions. judges are allowed to impose unconditional discharge sentences if they believe "no proper purpose would be served by imposing any condition upon the defendant's release," according to new york law. merchan said an unconditional discharge appeared to be "the most viable solution" to the particular difficulties presented by trump's sentencing, including his upcoming presidency.   aysha bagchi security procedures at the manhattan courthouse were more lax friday morning than they were during trump's trial   possibly because trump has chosen to appear virtually rather than in person for his sentencing. reporters had to go through one security inspection process, not the previous two, for this morning's proceedings. four large television monitors are hanging from the walls of the main courtroom showing the time and the word, "standby." trump may be appearing by video feed on these monitors once proceedings start at 9:30 a.m. edt. judge juan merchan isn't yet in the courtroom, and sketch artists who sat in the audience benches during the trial are seated friday in the jury box. reporters have been permitted to use our laptops in the courtroom friday, just as we were during the trial. there is a small din of typing and quiet conversations 15 minutes before proceedings are set to begin. court security officers are patrolling the room and will likely tamp down on conversations once the judge arrives.   aysha bagchi trump's sentencing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. edt friday. the president elect decided to appear virtually for proceedings after judge juan merchan offered that option.   aysha bagchi nearly two dozen witnesses testified at trump's trial, which lasted more than six weeks. most testified for the prosecution, including former trump white house staffers and trump organization employees. one of the most anticipated witnesses was stormy daniels, the adult film actress whose allegation of a sexual encounter with trump in 2006   an allegation he denies   prompted the 2016 hush money payment at the heart of the case. daniels described the alleged encounter in significant detail, including alleging trump was wearing silky pajamas that evening and said daniels reminded him of his daughter. former trump lawyer michael cohen, a trump loyalist turned nemesis, also testified at the trial. cohen said he paid daniels $130,000 to stay quiet about the allegation ahead of the 2016 election. trump was convicted of falsifying business records to cover up that he was paying cohen back in 2017. david pecker, who previously headed the parent company of the national enquirer tabloid magazine, was also a major prosecution witness. pecker described a "catch and kill" scheme in which the tabloid would buy and then bury stories that could have hurt trump's 2016 presidential campaign.   aysha bagchi in a 5 4 vote, the u.s. supreme court ruled thursday evening that trump's sentencing could go forward. trump had urged the justices to block it based on the immunity he argued he gets as a past and future president. the court's majority said it was rejecting trump's request because immunity related issues he raised about the evidence at his trial could be addressed in a later appeal and the burden of being sentenced will be "relatively insubstantial" for him. the court noted judge juan merchan's stated plan not to place conditions on trump and that the proceeding would be a "brief virtual hearing." republican appointed justices john roberts and amy coney barrett joined the court's three democratic appointed justices, sonia sotomayor, ketanji brown jackson, and elena kagan, to allow sentencing to go forward. the four remaining republican appointed justices   clarence thomas, samuel alito, neil gorsuch, and brett kavanaugh   voted to block the friday sentencing.   aysha bagchi speaking to reporters thursday evening from his mar a lago club in florida, trump confirmed he would attend his friday sentencing, but added that his fight against the new york case is a "long way from finished." "i'll do my little thing tomorrow   they can have fun with their political opponent," trump said. trump pledged again to appeal his conviction, even though he said he wasn't anticipating being hit with a penalty friday. "we're going to appeal anyway   just, psychologically   because frankly it's a disgrace," trump said.   aysha bagchi theoretically, manhattan judge juan merchan has the option to sentence trump to jail or prison. while there is no minimum sentence, each of trump's 34 felony convictions carries a maximum penalty of four years, although new york law caps the total sentence for the types of felonies trump was convicted of   class e felonies   at 20 years. however, merchan wrote earlier this month that he will likely issue an "unconditional discharge" sentence that doesn't impose any ongoing restrictions on the soon to be president. merchan described that sentence as "the most viable solution" to close down the case, enable trump to appeal the verdict, and avoid interfering with trump's impending presidency. even if merchan wanted to impose jail or prison time, he might not be permitted to, at least if the sentence were implemented quickly. the supreme court has never ruled on whether a president elect or sitting president could be forced behind bars, but some legal scholars argue that move would violate the constitution by interfering with the presidency.   aysha bagchi trump is required to attend his sentencing, but judge juan merchan gave the real estate mogul the option to attend virtually or in person. in a jan. 3 order, merchan said he would allow the virtual option to address concerns about imposing significant demands on trump as he prepares for his upcoming presidency. the trump transition team didn't respond to usa today's request for comment on whether trump planned to attend virtually or in person. however, prosecutors from manhattan district attorney alvin bragg's office said in a thursday filing to the u.s. supreme court that trump would be attending "by video."   aysha bagchi trump was convicted of falsifying business records 34 separate times to cover up that he was repaying his former personal lawyer, michael cohen, for sending porn star stormy daniels $130,000 to stay quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with trump. trump has denied the encounter ever happened. prosecutors proved beyond any reasonable doubt that trump disguised the reimbursement as payments to retain cohen's legal services, according to the 12 jurors who unanimously convicted the former reality tv star. trump was charged and convicted of felonies, not just misdemeanors, because the jury determined trump was falsifying the records to conceal or commit another crime. prosecutors argued that at least three other crimes were implicated, including violating campaign finance laws through the payment to daniels.   aysha bagchi

watch cbs news by kaia hubbard updated on: may 31, 2024 / 6:48 pm edt / cbs news washington   former president donald trump was found guilty on all charges in his new york "hush money" trial on thursday, and the judge overseeing the case will soon venture into uncharted territory to determine whether a former president should be imprisoned for a felony conviction for the first time. trump was found guilty of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to adult film star stormy daniels to buy her silence before the 2016 presidential election. the jury in manhattan returned its guilty verdict after a trial that stretched six weeks and featured more than 20 witnesses. each of the 34 felony charges carries up to a $5,000 fine and four year prison sentence. but whether trump will go to prison is another question   one that's up to the judge at sentencing. the judge set a july 11 date for sentencing following the jury's verdict on thursday. the timing is in line with similar white collar felony cases, where sentencing often takes place anywhere from three to eight weeks after conviction, according to dan horwitz, a defense lawyer who formerly prosecuted white collar cases for the manhattan district attorney's office. the sentencing will happen four days before the start of the republican national convention. the minimum sentence for falsifying business records in the first degree is zero, so trump could receive probation or conditional discharge, a sentence of no jail or up to four years for each offense. trump would likely be ordered to serve the prison time concurrently for each count, so up to four years, total. "the judge could sentence him to anything between zero and the max," horwitz said. "so he could sentence him to a period of months in jail, he could sentence him to a period of weeks in jail, he could sentence him to a sentence where he is required, for example, to go to jail every weekend for a period of time and then serve the rest of the sentence on probation." in an analysis of comparable cases brought by the manhattan district attorney's office, norm eisen, who has written a book about trump's 2020 election related federal indictment and served as special counsel in the first impeachment of the former president, found that about 10% resulted in imprisonment. but the circumstances surrounding the case make any across the board comparison difficult. trump could also be sentenced to home detention, where he would wear an ankle bracelet and be monitored rather than going to jail. horwitz suggested that a home detention sentence, which walks a middle ground between no punishment and a stint in state prison, might be the most likely outcome. it would also satisfy trump's unusual security and political situation. a home detention sentence would also make it possible for trump to continue campaigning   albeit virtually   with the ability to hold news conferences and remain active on social media. throughout the trial, justice juan merchan stressed the importance of allowing trump the ability to campaign and exercise his first amendment rights as he seeks another term in the white house. but it's just part of the equation that the judge must weigh in his decision. in an interview on cnn after the verdict, trump attorney todd blanche was asked if he expected prosecutors to seek jail time. "i have no idea," blanche replied. "look, there's there's a system in place that that where you rely on precedent, and somebody like president trump should never, never face a jail sentence based on this conduct." there are a number of factors that the court can take into consideration for sentencing, including the nature and extent of the conduct, who was hurt, whether there are victims, and acceptance of responsibility, horwitz said. trump has repeatedly denied any guilt in the case. "courts will credit a defendant who pleads guilty by accepting responsibility for their conduct, as opposed to not accepting responsibility going into trial and getting convicted," horwitz added, saying that "the sentence after a trial because you didn't accept responsibility is more stringent than it would have otherwise been." a defendant's conduct during the trial may also play a role, so trump's repeated violation of merchan's gag order may be a significant factor in his sentencing. during the trial, trump was accused over a dozen times of violating a gag order preventing him from making public comments about likely witnesses, jurors, attorneys and court staff involved in the case. trump's sentencing may also be complicated by the lifetime secret service protection that he's afforded as a former president. the issue came up during the trial, when the judge held trump in contempt for violating a gag order. though trump faced multiple fines, the judge expressed that jailing trump was "the last thing i want to do" because it would have disrupted the trial and presented challenges for the secret service agents tasked with protecting the former president. "today's outcome has no bearing on the manner in which the united states secret service carries out its protective mission," the secret service said in a statement provided to cbs news following the verdict. "our security measures will proceed unchanged." trump's imprisonment would likely need to include a rotation of secret service officers, and he would need to be isolated from other inmates. the former president's food and personal items would likely need to be screened for his protection, among other logistical considerations. "for all settings around the world, we study locations and develop comprehensive and layered protective models that incorporate state of the art technology, protective intelligence and advanced security tactics to safeguard our protectees," anthony guglielmi, the secret service's chief of communications, said before the verdict. no u.s. prison has ever previously had to deal with the possible imprisonment of a former president. horwitz said there are mechanisms for inmates in protective custody at state correctional facilities and jails, but how the process would actually work remains to be seen. after trump's conviction on thursday, the secret service said in a new statement that "today's outcome has no bearing on the manner in which the united states secret service carries out its protective mission. our security measures will proceed unchanged." should trump be sentenced to a period of home detention, the former president could carry out the sentence outside of new york, for instance, at his mar a lago estate in florida, where new york state would coordinate with florida's probation department, which would monitor trump's confinement, horwitz said. in the event that trump is sentenced to jail time, the location would depend on the duration of his sentence. if trump faces more than one year in jail, new york law requires that his sentence be served in a new york penal facility. but if his sentence is shorter than a year, it would be served in a new york city correctional facility, such as rikers island. trump could seek to stay the execution of any sentence pending appeal, meaning that he wouldn't have to start serving the sentence until an appeals court makes a decision, which is not uncommon in white collar cases in new york federal courts, horwitz said. the move could delay any jail time until the election   or even beyond. in any case, though possible imprisonment raises some hurdles for trump's presidential campaign, his conviction does not restrict him from continuing to run   even if he's behind bars. olivia rinaldi and jake rosen contributed reporting. kaia hubbard is a politics reporter for cbs news digital, based in washington, d.c. © 2024 cbs interactive inc. all rights reserved. copyright ©2025 cbs interactive inc. all rights reserved.

trump administration supported by donald j. trump faces sentencing on nov. 26. the election three weeks earlier may determine not only if he returns to the presidency, but if he ends up behind bars. by kate christobekben protess and william k. rashbaum in november, after voters decide whether to return donald j. trump to the white house, the judge who oversaw his criminal trial could send him to jail. and despite mr. trump’s political status, the judge has ample grounds to do so, a new york times examination of dozens of similar cases shows. the former president’s unruly behavior at the new york trial makes him a candidate for jail time, as does his felony crime of falsifying business records: over the past decade in manhattan, more than a third of these convictions resulted in defendants spending time behind bars, the times’s examination found. across new york state, the proportion is even higher   about 42 percent of those convictions led to jail or prison time. note: less severe penalties include conditional discharge, community service and fines. by elena shao/the new york times the threat of incarceration magnifies the already enormous stakes of the election: mr. trump is running not only to reclaim the presidency, but also to remain a free man. while the daily tumult of the presidential race has somewhat obscured mr. trump’s legal woes   he is the first former president to become a felon and still faces other criminal cases   his legal and political fates remain inextricably entwined. if he wins, mr. trump will almost certainly avoid incarceration for at least the next four years thanks to a longstanding federal prohibition, which state authorities are expected to honor, against prosecuting a sitting president. a trump victory might also short circuit his sentencing altogether: his lawyers have already persuaded the judge to postpone it until after election day, and they will undoubtedly demand an indefinite delay if he becomes the president elect. former president donald j. trump faced 34 felony charges of falsifying business records, related to the reimbursement of hush money paid to the porn star stormy daniels in order to cover up a sex scandal around the 2016 presidential election. note: less severe penalties include conditional discharge, time served and fines. by elena shao/the new york times the first criminal trial of former president donald j. trump ended in a manhattan jury convicting him on 34 felony counts. take a closer look at the witnesses and other central figures related to the case.

michael r. sisak, associated press michael r. sisak, associated press jennifer peltz, associated press jennifer peltz, associated press leave your feedback new york (ap)   in an extraordinary turn, a judge friday set president elect donald trump’s sentencing in his hush money case for jan. 10   little over a week before he’s due to return to the white house   but indicated he wouldn’t be jailed. the development nevertheless leaves trump on course to be the first president to take office convicted of felony crimes. read more: prosecutors suggest halting trump’s hush money case while upholding conviction judge juan m. merchan, who presided over trump’s trial, signaled in a written decision that he’d sentence the former and future president to what’s known as an unconditional discharge, in which a case is closed without jail time, a fine or probation. trump can appear virtually for sentencing, if he chooses. merchan wrote that he sought to balance competing interests: trump’s ability to govern “unencumbered” by the case, the u.s. supreme court’s july ruling on presidential immunity, the public’s expectation “that all are equal and no one is above the iaw,” and the importance of respecting a jury verdict. “this court is simply not persuaded that the first factor outweighs the others at this stage of the proceeding,” merchan wrote in an 18 page decision. he rejected trump’s push to dismiss the verdict and throw out the case on presidential immunity grounds and because of his impending second term. the judge said that he found no legal impediment to sentencing trump and indeed deemed it “incumbent” on the court to carry out the proceeding before inauguration day, jan. 20. “only by bringing finality to this matter” will the interests of justice be served, merchan wrote. trump communications director steven cheung reiterated that the case, which trump has long described as illegitimate, should be dismissed outright. “there should be no sentencing, and president trump will continue fighting against these hoaxes until they are all dead,” cheung said in a statement. he didn’t elaborate on trump’s potential next legal moves. former manhattan judge diane kiesel said the ruling can’t be appealed under new york law, but trump nonetheless might try to appeal it. in any event, he can appeal his conviction, a step that can’t be taken until he is sentenced. “i’m a little curious as to why it took this long, but i don’t want to be critical of the judge over that because i have no idea what his other caseload looks like and i know this is something that he wanted to make sure he got right because the minute mr. trump is sentenced, everybody is going to be running up to the appellate division,” kiesel said. trump was convicted in may of 34 counts of falsifying business records. they involved an alleged scheme to hide a hush money payment to porn actor stormy daniels in the last weeks of trump’s first campaign in 2016. the payout was made to keep her from publicizing claims she’d had sex with the married trump years earlier. he says that her story is false and that he did nothing wrong. after trump’s nov. 5 election, merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case. trump’s lawyers urged merchan to toss it. they said it would otherwise pose unconstitutional “disruptions” to the incoming president’s ability to run the country. prosecutors acknowledged there should be some accommodation for his upcoming presidency, but they insisted the conviction should stand. they suggested various options, such as freezing the case during his term or guaranteeing him a no jail sentence. they also proposed closing the case while formally noting both his conviction and his undecided appeal   a novel idea drawn from what some state courts do when criminal defendants die while appealing their cases. merchan ruled that trump’s current status as president elect does not afford him the same immunity as a sitting president. setting the verdict aside and dismissing the case would be a “drastic” step and would “undermine the rule of law in immeasurable ways,” merchan wrote. he opined that it wouldn’t address the supreme court’s concerns about presidential immunity, either. trump takes office jan. 20 as the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office. his conviction left the 78 year old facing the possibility of punishment ranging from a fine or probation to up to four years in prison. the case centered on how trump accounted for reimbursing his personal attorney for the daniels payment. the lawyer, michael cohen, fronted the money. he later recouped it through a series of payments that trump’s company logged as legal expenses. trump, by then in the white house, signed most of the checks himself. prosecutors said the designation was meant to cloak the true purpose of the payments and help cover up a broader effort to keep voters from hearing unflattering claims about the republican during his first campaign. trump said that cohen was legitimately paid for legal services, and that daniels’ story was suppressed to avoid embarrassing trump’s family, not to influence the electorate. trump was a private citizen   campaigning for president, but neither elected nor sworn in   when cohen paid daniels in october 2016. he was president when cohen was reimbursed, and cohen testified that they discussed the repayment arrangement in the oval office. trump, a republican, has decried the verdict as the “rigged, disgraceful” result of a “witch hunt” pursued by manhattan district attorney alvin bragg, a democrat. before trump’s november election, his lawyers sought to reverse his conviction for a different reason: the supreme court’s immunity decision, which gave presidents broad protection from criminal prosecution. the trump hush money attorneys contended that the jury got some evidence that should have been shielded by presidential immunity. merchan later rejected that argument, but in the meantime, the election raised new issues. while urging merchan to nix the conviction, trump also sought to move the case to federal court, where he could also assert immunity. a federal judge repeatedly said no, but trump appealed. the hush money case was the only one of trump’s four criminal indictments to go to trial. since the election, special counsel jack smith has ended his two federal cases. one pertained to trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss; the other alleged he hoarded classified documents at his mar a lago estate. a separate, state level election interference case in georgia is in limbo after an appeals court removed prosecutor fani willis from the case. trump’s lawyers argued that smith’s decision to dismiss the federal indictments against trump should propel a dismissal of the new york hush money case, as well. but merchan said he found that argument unpersuasive, noting that the hush money case was in a “vastly” different stage. trump’s sentencing initially was set for last july 11, then postponed twice at the defense’s request. associated press writer larry neumeister contributed. left: donald trump sits in the courtroom during his hush money trial at manhattan criminal court on may 30, 2024 in new york city. file photo by michael m. santiago/pool via reuters by larry neumeister, michael r. sisak, associated press by william brangham, ali schmitz by associated press by william brangham by alanna durkin richer, eric tucker, associated press michael r. sisak, associated press michael r. sisak, associated press jennifer peltz, associated press jennifer peltz, associated press support provided by: learn more thank you. please check your inbox to confirm. © 1996   2025 newshour productions llc. all rights reserved. pbs is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization. sections about stay connected thank you. please check your inbox to 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new york (ap) president elect donald trump was formally sentenced friday in his hush money case, but the judge declined to impose any punishment. the outcome cements trump’s conviction while freeing him to return to the white house unencumbered by the threat of a jail term or a fine. click here to listen to the sentencing hearing here's the latest: it was a case that for the first time put a former president and major presidential candidate in a courtroom as a criminal defendant. the case was the only one of four criminal indictments that has gone to trial and possibly the only one that ever will. president elect donald trump doesn’t have to go to jail, pay a fine or perform community service as a result of his new york hush money conviction. a judge ended the case friday with a sentence of an unconditional discharge, closing the case with no punishment. but unless the conviction for falsifying business records is someday overturned, trump will have felonies on his criminal record, which will affect some of his rights. trump is registered to vote in florida and he’ll be able to vote there. florida does bars people convicted of felonies from voting, but restores their right to vote after they’ve completed their sentence. under federal law, people convicted of felonies aren’t allowed to possess firearms. “today’s event was a despicable charade, and now that it is over, we will appeal this hoax, which has no merit, and restore the trust of americans in our once great system of justice,” he wrote in a lengthy post on his social media platform after the sentencing. following the historic sentencing, the mood outside the courthouse is festive, with a few dozen trump supporters waving american flags and signs emblazoned with the president elect’s face. some described the scene as a reunion of sorts, a chance to catch up with others who’d attended demonstrations during the trial while celebrating both the election victory and the outcome of the case. “no penalty at all is great news,” said jerry gasowski, a retired power plant worker who drove into the city from long island. “it’s great news for our country.” as judge merchan delivered the sentence, trump sat upright, lips pursed, frowning slightly. he tilted his head to the side as the judge wished him “godspeed in your second term in office.” president elect donald trump was formally sentenced friday in his hush money case, but the judge declined to impose any punishment. the outcome cements trump’s conviction while freeing him to return to the white house unencumbered by the threat of a jail term or a fine. trump’s sentence of an unconditional discharge caps a norm smashing case that saw the former and future president charged with 34 felonies, put on trial for almost two months and convicted on every count. yet, the legal detour   and sordid details aired in court of a plot to bury affair allegations   didn’t hurt him with voters, who elected him to a second term. manhattan judge juan m. merchan could have sentenced the 78 year old republican to up to four years in prison. instead, he chose a sentence that sidestepped thorny constitutional issues by effectively ending the case but assured that trump will become the first person convicted of a felony to assume the presidency. merchan says a judge must consider the facts of the case as well as aggravating and mitigating circumstances. “never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances,” he said. he argued that voters saw what happened in this courtroom and, like him, thought it was a disgrace and supported him overwhelmingly in the election. “it’s been a political witch hunt,” he said. “it was done to damage my reputation so that i would lose the election, and obviously, that didn’t work.” “this has been a very terrible experience. i think it has been a tremendous set back for new york and the new york court system,” he said. “i very, very much disagree with much of what the government just said about this case, about the legitimacy of what happened in this courtroom during this trial, and about president trump’s conduct fighting this case,” blanche said. “as this court has noted, the defendant’s conduct constitutes a ‘direct attack on the rule of law itself,’” steinglass said. he also noted trump’s threats to retaliate against people who have wronged him in his legal matters, which steinglass said is intended to have a chilling effect. steinglass said the author of the pre sentence report, a probation officer who interviewed trump, notes trump sees himself as above the law. despite all that, steinglass said an unconditional discharge is the “most practical sentence prior to his inauguration.” he notes the conviction and reviews the sentencing options include up to four years in prison, but other remedies as well. steinglass says the prosecution recommends unconditional discharge based on circumstances including trump’s impending return to the white house. steinglass says prosecutors are ok with the potential no penalty sentence. he cites “all the circumstances of this case, its unique posture and the defendant’s status as president elect.” “the verdict in this case was unanimous and decisive and it must be respected,” he said. as prosecutors began their remarks, trump shook his head, eyes darting around the screen. the camera view is framed tightly on him and blanche, offering courtroom spectators a much closer view of trump’s expression than during the trial. “he’s co located with my partner, todd blanche,” he said. trump is in florida, blanche confirmed. he’s wearing a red tie with white or gold thin diagonal stripes. trump appears stoic and reserved as he waits. an attorney sits to trump’s right, in front of a backdrop of american flags. american flag pins on both men’s suit jackets. a handful of protesters had gathered in front of the manhattan federal courthouse friday morning. some carried signs reading “deserves the maximum sentence” and “34 felony convictions.” meanwhile, at a park across the street, supporters unfurled a massive flag reading “trump won.” in an 18 page legal opinion, merchan laid out his reasoning for ruling that the president elect should be sentenced later this month for the crime of falsifying business records. his most important finding was that trump’s conviction should not be thrown out simply because he was elected president. but the judge also signaled that he intended to impose a sentence of “unconditional discharge,” which means trump would not face any punishment beyond having the conviction on his legal record. ▶ read more about what merchan had to say four big tv screens are mounted on the walls: one on either side of the bench where the judge will sit and one each hanging from the left and right side, parallel with the tables where the defense and prosecution will sit. another large monitor sits behind next to the defense table, visible to the judge’s bench. a crew from abc news, which will be distributing an audio recording of the proceeding after it ends, was testing the microphone system. at one point, instead of the usual counting up or down to check levels, one member of the crew started reciting the first few words of the declaration of independence   “when in the course of human events”   drawing chuckles from the crowd of reporters and spectators in the gallery. copyright © 2025 hays post   powered byeagle radio

photo by gage skidmore under a creative commons license. donald trump is scheduled to be sentenced in his new york hush money and election interference case after being found guilty on 34 charges of falsifying business records in order to influence the 2016 election. trump is the first former president convicted of a crime, though it is unclear whether or how his status as the republican party’s nominee for the 2024 presidential election will impact the type and length of sentence he receives from judge juan merchan. while trump’s status as a former president and presidential candidate facing criminal sentencing is unprecedented, so is the underlying conduct to influence the 2016 presidential election that led to his conviction on the 34 criminal charges. here’s what to know about his pre sentencing process in new york, and what type of sentence trump could face. no. judge merchan has adjourned the sentencing from september 18, 2024 to november 26, 2024. trump’s motion to set aside the jury verdict and dismiss the indictment based on presidential immunity will be decided on november 12, 2024. a sentence will only be imposed if trump’s immunity motion fails. the potential impact of the immunity case comes from the part of the ruling which held that evidence concerning a president’s official acts must be entirely excluded from jury scrutiny. the 34 counts of falsifying business records are unofficial acts committed before his presidency, but trump argues that certain evidence from trump’s presidential term is allegedly protected by immunity. trump’s arguments relied largely on the fact that some evidence in the hush money case involved his speech when he was president. however, as the immunity ruling noted, there may be contexts “in which the president, notwithstanding the prominence of his position, speaks in an unofficial capacity.” for example, trump pointed to four tweets about michael cohen presented at trial that were tweeted during his presidency. all four tweets concern the personal reputation and character of cohen, who has never been a government official. the content, form and context make clear that trump was not speaking in his official capacity, and such speech is likely not entitled to protection of presidential immunity. the supreme court likely will ultimately decide whether there is at least one piece of evidence in the hush money trial protected by presidential immunity, and if so, whether a new trial or dismissal of the whole case is needed. the manhattan da’s office argued “no” for both questions, and if the courts agree, then sentencing will happen after that gets resolved. consistent with state law, the new york department of probation has performed a routine investigation collecting information about trump’s history of delinquency or criminality, social history, employment history, family situation, economic status, education and personal habits in order to develop a sentencing recommendation to be submitted for judge merchan’s consideration. trump himself was virtually interviewed at mar a lago by a probation officer on june 10, for which he was granted an exception to sit with his lawyer, which is typically not allowed for those convicted of a felony. trump’s family, friends or medical care providers may have also been interviewed by the officer. any statements made by trump, his attorneys and the prosecution at the time of sentencing will also be considered, and judge merchan could consider additional factors relevant to the commision of the crimes for which trump was convicted and his character. that could include trump’s long history of perpetrating fraud and lack of remorse for his actions, as well as trump’s conduct throughout the proceedings including his repeated violations of judge merchan’s gag order. the recent civil judgments against trump and his businesses can also be taken into account. the prosecution’s pre sentencing memorandum and sentencing recommendation are not made public. however, certain aspects of the report that are not subject to statutory confidentiality will likely be disclosed during the sentencing, when judge merchan states for the record what factors he considered when determining trump’s sentence. at the start of the hearing, trump, his attorneys and the prosecution will be permitted to make statements in support of their sentencing recommendations. the prosecution will go first, followed by trump’s attorneys and then trump, if he decides to address the court. typically, when a defendant chooses to make a statement, they express contrition for their actions in order to receive a lighter punishment. after the statements, judge merchan will impose a sentence and state for the record all of the relevant factors considered. trump has repeatedly argued that his status as a presidential candidate should be considered and erroneously suggested that any sentence that limits his ability to campaign constitutes “election interference.”. as laid out above, several factors will impact the type and length of sentence trump might receive. considering the relevant precedents and law in this case and the unprecedented nature of trump’s criminal conduct, a prison sentence would be legally sound and defensible especially compared to a sentence like conditional discharge, which is effectively no sentence at all. trump was also warned after being fined by the court for violating his gag order that further violations may result in his imprisonment, after which he allegedly violated the order again during a press conference immediately after his conviction. a sentence that did not include prison, particularly one that was more than just conditional discharge, would also be legally defensible. given trump’s status as a first time, non violent offender, his age and the potential consideration of political and logistical factors like his status as a former president entitled to secret service protection and as the presumptive gop presidential nominee, it is unlikely that he receives a prison sentence. a more likely sentence would involve probation either with or without home confinement and electronic monitoring, or some form of community service to make reparation to the state of new york. if trump does receive a period of imprisonment, a lengthy sentence is incredibly unlikely. when a defendant is sentenced to prison time, they are typically immediately taken into the custody of the department of corrections and community supervision. however, because trump will be accompanied by the secret service, it is unclear how this process will unfold if he receives a prison sentence. if trump is not sentenced to prison time, he will be free to leave the courthouse, but the court may set conditions relating to his conduct for a certain period of probation or conditional discharge, such as refraining from consorting with certain people or performing community service and regularly reporting to a probation officer. in the case of a probation sentence, the court could also require a period of home confinement. trump may be required to return to court periodically to provide updates until the end of this alternative sentence. no. even if trump is elected to a second term, he would not be able to pardon himself for these crimes because he was convicted on new york state charges. new york criminal procedure law new york penal law we have a proven track record of holding government officials accountable. we will do whatever it takes to demand accountability and protect against creeping authoritarianism. make a tax deductible donation to support our work → *if you’ve saved your information, your donation will go through immediately. wear your support for ethics and democracy! check out the crew store >> we have a proven track record of holding government officials accountable. we will do whatever it takes to demand accountability and protect against creeping authoritarianism. make a tax deductible donation to support 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manhattan supreme court justice juan merchan will have wide discretion to choose from six potential punishments for former president donald trump at his sentencing next month   including some that would all but prevent the gop frontrunner from hitting the campaign trail. the first problem for the presumptive republican nominee   who was convicted of falsifying business records by a manhattan jury this week   is timing. merchan’s july 11 sentencing hearing is four days before the republican national convention, meaning he could potentially compel the former president to skip it. the sentencing could also upend the 2024 presidential debate calendar if trump’s sentence prevents him from attending. the second of the two matchups, hosted by abc, will be held on sept. 10 and a good performance is widely seen as essential by team trump. merchan cannot disqualify trump from running, but the judge   who was ripped friday by trump as a “devil”   can impose various sentences that upend the race. his options: the most extreme option is also the least likely, experts say. “at absolute most, a prison sentence for trump would look like anywhere from one to three years. while it’s also unlikely to happen, a sentence beyond one year would mean he serves his time at an upstate prison. a sentence of a year or less would be served at rikers,” said jason goldman, a criminal defense attorney in new york city. “no other human convicted of this specific crime has ever served a day,” he added. the city has already made contingency plans about the possibility of jailing trump, with mayor adams saying the city jail at rikers island was “ready.” incarceration does not block trump from continuing his campaign. in 1920, socialist eugene v. debs mounted his last presidential run from prison where he was serving time for violating the espionage act   and managed to win nearly a million votes. while it’s about as unlikely as prison, some see house arrest as potentially more insidious. locking up trump in his fifth avenue triplex would effectively keep him off the campaign trail without the spectacle and expense of prison. “jail, home detention, even probation for a 77 year old, first time offender (and former president at that) on the lowest level non violent felony, who has a powerful appeal and no history of violence, drugs, or alcohol abuse, is almost unheard of,” said aida leisenring, a criminal defense attorney at barket epstein. “home detention is not a state sentence, but the judge could make it a condition of probation, whereby president trump would only be allowed to leave his residence for medical, religious and legal purposes and anything else the judge allows,” she said. such a sentence . . . would raise more than eyebrows.” probation is “much more likely” than prison or house arrest, but it could be disruptive, legal insiders told the post. under normal new york rules, a probation officer would have to approve any time trump wants to leave the empire state   something which could complicate his plans to hit the stump in swing states like pennsylvania, georgia and michigan. “the most immediate challenge for the president is the standard rules for the probation officer. ordinarily a convicted person must get approval for any trip out of the state, a rather daunting prospect for a presidential candidate. is a probation officer really going to deliberate whether trump can go to chicago but not las vegas?” george washington university law professor jonathan turley told the post. in practice, merchan would have wide authority to set the terms of probation and could allow trump more leniency. in this case, trump would be released, but beholden to certain court ordered conditions, explained martin horn, professor emeritus at john jay college of criminal justice. . “he could be required to pay a fine by such and such a date, and once he meets that condition, his case is done,” horn said. morning report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more. please provide a valid email address. by clicking above you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy. never miss a story. “it all depends on the conditions imposed, and if a restriction on travel is imposed, the judge could require him to remain within the jurisdiction, but that’d be highly unusual   highly unusual,” horn added. before sentencing, trump will have to sit for an interview with a probation officer, who will write up his pre sentencing report, which the judge theoretically factors into his decision. the maximum fine that can be imposed for a class e felony is $5,000 under new york law, which experts agree merchan will likely hand down. the jurist could try to pack on the pain by ordering consecutive fines for each of the 34 felony counts, amounting to a $170,000 tab. but attorneys believe merchan will opt to have the fines run concurrently. “it’d be unheard of for them to do consecutive fines on a case like this, but everything is unheard of in this case like this so who knows,” said white collar criminal defense attorney jonathan rosenberg. community service merchan could also impose community service on the former president, a situation that might force trump into menial servitude   but would not otherwise impact the presidential race. “he could also receive community service as part of a probationary sentence, including picking up trash on the side of the road,” criminal defense attorney jeffrey lichtman told the post. trump might also serve this sentence at a food bank or a community garden. “i don’t know any case where a person in their late 70s with no criminal record gets convicted of the lowest level felonies and goes to jail. nyc probation would just be a waste of money. some sort of community service would be the most appropriate punishment,” criminal defense attorney arthur aidala told the post.

copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved. a judge has set president elect donald trump’s sentencing in his hush money case for jan. 10   little over a week before he’s due to return to the white house. former president donald trump waits for the start of proceedings in manhattan criminal court, april 23, 2024, in new york. (ap photo/yuki iwamura, pool, file) judge juan m. merchan sits for a portrait in his chambers in new york, march 14, 2024. (ap photo/seth wenig, file) file   adult film actress stormy daniels attends the opening of the adult entertainment fair “venus,” in berlin, oct. 11, 2018. (ap photo/markus schreiber, file) file   michael cohen leaves his apartment building in new york, may 14, 2024. (ap photo/seth wenig, file) a judge has set president elect donald trump’s sentencing in his hush money case for jan. 10   little over a week before he’s due to return to the white house. former president donald trump waits for the start of proceedings in manhattan criminal court, april 23, 2024, in new york. (ap photo/yuki iwamura, pool, file) former president donald trump waits for the start of proceedings in manhattan criminal court, april 23, 2024, in new york. (ap photo/yuki iwamura, pool, file) judge juan m. merchan sits for a portrait in his chambers in new york, march 14, 2024. (ap photo/seth wenig, file) judge juan m. merchan sits for a portrait in his chambers in new york, march 14, 2024. (ap photo/seth wenig, file) file   adult film actress stormy daniels attends the opening of the adult entertainment fair “venus,” in berlin, oct. 11, 2018. (ap photo/markus schreiber, file) file   adult film actress stormy daniels attends the opening of the adult entertainment fair “venus,” in berlin, oct. 11, 2018. (ap photo/markus schreiber, file) file   michael cohen leaves his apartment building in new york, may 14, 2024. (ap photo/seth wenig, file) file   michael cohen leaves his apartment building in new york, may 14, 2024. (ap photo/seth wenig, file) new york (ap)   in an extraordinary turn, a judge friday set president elect donald trump’s sentencing in his hush money criminal case for jan. 10   little over a week before he’s due to return to the white house   but indicated he wouldn’t be jailed. the development nevertheless leaves trump on course to be the first president to take office convicted of felony crimes. manhattan judge juan m. merchan, who presided over trump’s trial, signaled in a written decision that he’d sentence the former and future president to what’s known as an unconditional discharge, in which a conviction stands but the case is closed without jail time, a fine or probation. trump can appear virtually for sentencing, if he chooses. rejecting trump’s push to dismiss the verdict and throw out the case on presidential immunity grounds and because of his impending second term, merchan wrote that only “bringing finality to this matter” would serve the interests of justice. he said he sought to balance trump’s ability to govern, “unencumbered” by the case, against other interests: the u.s. supreme court’s july ruling on presidential immunity and the public’s expectation “that all are equal and no one is above the law,” and the importance of respecting a jury verdict. “this court is simply not persuaded that the first factor outweighs the others at this stage of the proceeding,” merchan wrote in an 18 page decision. trump lashed out at merchan on his truth social platform friday, writing that it “would be the end of the presidency as we know it” if the judge’s ruling is allowed to stand. he repeated his claims that the case was an “illegitimate political attack” and “nothing but a rigged charade” perpetuated by manhattan district attorney alvin bragg, a democrat. he didn’t elaborate on potential next legal moves. bragg’s office declined to comment on merchan’s ruling. former manhattan judge diane kiesel said the ruling can’t be appealed under new york law, but trump nonetheless might try to appeal it. in any event, he can appeal his conviction   a step that can’t be taken until he is sentenced   but he won’t be able to pardon himself. trump’s case was tried in state court, but presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes. trump takes office jan. 20 as the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office. the republican was found guilty in may of 34 counts of falsifying business records. the charges involved an alleged scheme to hide a hush money payment to porn actor stormy daniels in the last weeks of trump’s first campaign in 2016. the payout was made to keep her from publicizing claims she’d had sex with the married trump years earlier. he says that her story is false and that he did nothing wrong. the case centered on how trump accounted for reimbursing his personal attorney at the time, michael cohen, for the daniels payment. cohen on friday called merchan’s decision to go ahead with the sentencing “judicious and appropriate.” the conviction left trump, 78, facing the possibility of punishment ranging from a fine or probation to up to four years in prison. his sentencing initially was set for last july 11, then postponed twice at the defense’s request. then, after trump’s nov. 5 election, merchan delayed the sentencing again so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case. trump’s lawyers urged merchan to toss it. they said it would otherwise pose unconstitutional “disruptions” to the incoming president’s ability to run the country. prosecutors acknowledged there should be some accommodation for his upcoming presidency, but they insisted the conviction should stand. they suggested various options, such as freezing the case during his term or guaranteeing him a no jail sentence. they also proposed closing the case while formally noting both his conviction and his undecided appeal   a novel idea drawn from what some state courts do when criminal defendants die while appealing their cases. merchan ruled that trump’s current status as president elect does not afford him the same immunity as a sitting president. setting the verdict aside and dismissing the case would be a “drastic” step and would “undermine the rule of law in immeasurable ways,” merchan wrote. before trump’s november election, his lawyers sought to reverse his conviction for a different reason: the supreme court’s immunity decision, which gave presidents broad protection from criminal prosecution. trump was a private citizen   campaigning for president, but neither elected nor sworn in   when cohen paid daniels in october 2016. he was president when cohen was reimbursed, and cohen testified that they discussed the repayment arrangement in the oval office. the trump hush money attorneys contended that the jury got some evidence that should have been shielded by presidential immunity. merchan later rejected that argument, but in the meantime, the election raised new issues. while urging merchan to nix the conviction, trump also sought to move the case to federal court, where he could also assert immunity. a federal judge repeatedly said no, but trump appealed. the hush money case was the only one of trump’s four criminal indictments to go to trial. since the election, special counsel jack smith has ended his two federal cases. one pertained to trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss; the other alleged he hoarded classified documents at his mar a lago estate. a separate, state level election interference case in georgia is in limbo after an appeals court removed prosecutor fani willis from the case. trump’s lawyers argued that smith’s decision to dismiss the federal indictments against trump should propel a dismissal of the new york hush money case, as well. but merchan said he found that argument unpersuasive, noting that the hush money case was in a “vastly” different stage. associated press writer larry neumeister contributed. copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved.
the former president could face probation or prison time. either option would be without precedent. by william k. rashbaum with donald j. trump’s unprecedented felony conviction on thursday, what has long been a remote and abstract concept could move closer to a stunning reality: a former president of the united states behind bars. but that wouldn’t happen fast. a jury in manhattan convicted mr. trump of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, a crime that under new york state law carries a possible sentence that ranges from probation to four years in prison. but mr. trump is no ordinary defendant. and while most experts think a prison sentence is unlikely, the judge in the case, juan m. merchan, has made it known that he takes white collar crime seriously. the judge set sentencing for july 11. former president donald j. trump faced 34 felony charges of falsifying business records, related to the reimbursement of hush money paid to the porn star stormy daniels in order to cover up a sex scandal around the 2016 presidential election. if justice merchan hands down a punishment that lands the former president behind bars   what is known as a custodial sentence   mr. trump would be no ordinary prisoner. that’s because the united states secret service is required by law to protect former presidents around the clock, which means its agents would have to protect mr. trump inside a prison if he was sentenced to serve time.

 new york   president elect donald trump received the first ever criminal sentence for a former or incoming u.s. president on friday, an "unconditional discharge” that means trump will get no prison time or probation as he prepares to enter the white house for a second time on jan. 20. "this has been a very terrible experience" and a "setback" for the new york court system, trump told the judge overseeing his case minutes before his sentence was handed down. trump was convicted may 30 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star stormy daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. the incoming president, who did not physically attend the sentencing, appeared via a remote video feed from south florida. after a 30 minute hearing, judge juan merchan released trump without any ongoing conditions, wishing him "godspeed" in his second presidential term. more:whispers, tension, suspense: what happened in court as donald trump heard guilty verdict trump being sentenced friday for a felony conviction and then walking out of court a free man stirred strong feelings from observers. sen. marsha blackburn, r tenn., said on x that trump’s sentence was “a joke and a disgrace." "this witch hunt and ruling,” blackburn added, “was an insult to the american people." democratic rep. jasmine crockett of texas, a former public defender, said trump got off way too easy for the serious crimes of which he was convicted.