Trump will go to jail in the hush money case! What did the US court say?
America's newly elected President Donald Trump has suffered a major setback in the hush money case. The judge will announce Donald Trump's punishment in the hush money case on January 10. While Trump is going to take oath as the President of the country on January 20, Trump will now have to appear before the judge just a few days before the swearing-in.
The court has heard the hush money case against Donald Trump. Before understanding what the court said in this case, it is important to know what the hush money case is and whether Trump can be sentenced to jail in this case on January 10?
What is a hush money case?
America's newly elected President Donald Trump was found guilty in May on 34 counts of tampering with business records. This case is related to the year 2016. Trump is allegedly accused of making a secret payment of $1,30,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. Trump allegedly made this payment because Stormy Daniels was threatening him regarding her relationship with Trump. However, in this case, Trump says that these allegations are false and he has not done anything wrong.
What did the court say?
During the US elections, Judge Juan Marchan halted the proceedings on this case and postponed the sentence indefinitely so that Trump's defense and prosecution could consider the future of the case. After this, once again taking action on this case, the court ordered that Donald Trump will be sentenced on January 10 in his secret money case in New York. However, he has to take oath as President on January 20 and on January 10 he will be sentenced in the hush money case.
What sentence will be given to Trump on January 10, this question is going on in everyone's mind right now, is it possible that he will be jailed before becoming the President. However, the judge has also given some indications in the answer to all these questions. Judge Juan Merchan indicated that he will not sentence Trump to jail, probation or fine, but will give him "unconditional discharge". The judge also said that President-elect Trump can appear for the hearing either personally or virtually.
Justice Marchan said that he was given several options to punish the newly elected President Trump, in which he could handle his post without getting distracted by the responsibilities of the President due to this case. The judge said that the first option given to him was that Trump (78) should be sentenced when he completes his presidential term in the year 2029. Or a punishment should be guaranteed which does not include going to jail.
Last month, Justice Merchan ruled that Trump's hush money sentence is valid. Trump is going to become the first president to be convicted of a crime while currently in office. After being sentenced, he can appeal against this decision. Earlier, Trump was to be sentenced on November 26 in the hush money case, but Judge Merchan had extended this date after Trump's victory in the election.
Trump appeals to dismiss the case
Earlier, Trump had tried to use his victory in the election to dismiss the case. However, Trump's team criticized the judge's decision to proceed with the sentence and said that the "chaotic" case should be dismissed "immediately".
Trump's team has been continuously opposing the judge's decision. On Friday, Trump's spokesperson criticized Judge Marchan's sentencing order to Trump, saying that it is part of a "witch hunt" and Trump should not be punished.
Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years in prison in the US, but there is no minimum sentence and no imprisonment requirement. Even before his election win, legal experts thought it was unlikely that Trump would face prison given his age and his legal record.
Trump has been charged in three more cases so far. One is related to classified documents and two are related to his alleged efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.