The president-elect could face up to four years in prison after being convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels prior to his 2016 election victory.
In July, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that a sitting president has absolute immunity from prosecution for “official acts” carried out during their term. However, it left the definition of “official acts” to lower courts to interpret.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan postponed sentencing until after the election. If the conviction stands, Trump, now 78, is due to be sentenced on November 26, just weeks before his inauguration.
Legal experts suggest that Trump’s decisive election win over Vice President Kamala Harris could strengthen his legal team’s efforts to avoid sentencing altogether.
Prosecutors have maintained that the charges pertain solely to Trump’s personal actions, unrelated to his official duties, as they were committed before he assumed office. According to ABC 7, they argued that the evidence Trump cites as affected by the Supreme Court ruling is only a minor part of the extensive proof that led to his conviction on all 34 felony charges.
Trump’s defense team, however, contends that the inclusion of evidence such as his conversations with former White House communications director Hope Hicks and his social media activity as president may have confused the jury.
Should Judge Merchan decide to overturn the conviction, he could either order a new trial, likely delayed until Trump leaves office, or dismiss the indictment entirely.
Additionally, the Department of Justice may choose to drop the two cases brought against Trump by special counsel Jack Smith, involving attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and the mishandling of classified documents.
The DOJ typically refrains from prosecuting sitting presidents, and officials reportedly view pursuing these cases before Trump’s January 20 inauguration as futile.
Legal scholars, including Quinnipiac University law professor Wayne Unger, believe it’s highly unlikely that Trump will face jail time. Former prosecutor Neama Rahmani echoed this sentiment, stating, “With Trump’s election victory, his criminal issues are likely to disappear.”
