Judge Juan Merchan ruled this Friday that the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, must go to court on January 10 to hear the sentence on the case of alleged bribery of the former adult film actress. Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels.
This is clear from a document collected by the American press in which Judge Merchan emphasizes that Trump will be condemnedalthough will not face legal sanctions. The president-elect can still appeal any possible conviction, while the Prosecutor’s Office has refused to comment on the facts.
Merchan’s ruling ends two months of speculation and maneuvers between Trump’s lawyers and the US Justice Department once the tycoon won the presidential elections last November. Trump will take office on January 20ten days after the sentence.
Trump was convicted in April for a total of 34 chargeswhen he was not even confirmed as an official candidate for the White House. The judge, who postponed ‘sine die’ the hearing in which it will be known whether he is finally sentenced to prison, held him responsible for document falsification to hide a $130,000 payment to Stormy Danielswho he paid not to talk about an alleged extramarital relationship.
The Supreme Court ruled that former presidents have immunity from prosecution for official acts, noting that evidence related to Trump’s work as president could not be used in the trial. The magnate’s defense argued that the ruling by the country’s highest court meant that the conviction should be annulled and the accusation dismissed, but Merchan noted that immunity does not affect to this case.
The conviction of Trump carries the possibility of up to four years in prisonwhich, however, could be replaced by a wide range of alternatives to imprisonment ranging from probation to payment of fines.
#Trump #sentenced #Stormy #Daniels #bribery #case #January