Porn star bribery case verdict: Trump to stand trial 10 days before inauguration

Porn Star Bribery Case Verdict: Trump to Stand Trial 10 Days Before Inauguration Yaroslav Pogonchuk

Donald Trump is scheduled to appear at the sentencing hearing for bribery of porn star Stormy Daniels 10 days before his inauguration, an unprecedented event in U.S. history.

Channel 24 reports, citing Reuters. Trump may attend the sentencing in person or virtually.

Could Trump end up behind bars

New York State Judge Juan Merchan in Manhattan rejected a motion to overturn the guilty verdict, while making it clear that the newly elected president will not receive a prison term.

According to the judge, 78-year-old Trump may attend the sentencing either in person or virtually.

As noted in the publication, Judge Merchan's decision requires Trump to appear at the hearing only for 10 days until the inauguration on January 20. This has never happened before in US history.

Before Trump, no US president, current or former, had been charged or convicted of a crime.

Merchan stressed that overturning the jury's verdict would be wrong, but noted that the idea of ​​imprisoning Trump was inappropriate.

The court carefully considered the parties' respective arguments and concluded that overturning the jury's verdict was not the best or only way to reconcile interests, the judge noted.

What prison term did Trump face

78-year-old Donald Trump faced up to four years in prison in the “hush money” case. In May, a jury found him guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to payments to an adult film star before the 2016 election.

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung criticized the ruling, saying the case should never have been brought.

This illegal case should never have been brought, and the Constitution requires it to be dismissed immediately, Cheung said.

Judge Merchan filed his sentencing plan, denying Trump's motion to dismiss the case because he won the presidential election. Trump's lawyers argued that the existence of the case during his presidency could impair his ability to serve as president.

The judge disagreed, saying that overturning the jury's verdict would do far more harm to the rule of law.

“Defendant's status as president-elect does not require the court to exercise its drastic and 'rare' discretion to grant a motion to dismiss,” Merchan wrote in his decision.

The judge also rejected Trump's argument, filed Dec. 3, that the case should be dismissed because of his significant civic and financial contributions to the city and country.

While the judge acknowledged Trump's contributions during his presidency, he also noted that Trump's public statements criticizing the judicial system, became the determining factor in his decision.

Recall that this is the so-called “porn money” case, in which Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records in order to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. The money was transferred in exchange for her silence before the 2016 presidential election regarding allegations of a sexual relationship with Trump that she said had occurred several years earlier.