After the election, Donald Trump will face a major legal challenge with his Nov. 26 sentencing, in which he will have to respond to 34 felony charges for allegedly falsifying corporate records related to the payment of unreported money to porn actress Stormy Daniels back in 2016.
Defense attorneys succeeded in delaying the sentencing twice: first by asking for the case to be dismissed on the basis of presidential immunity and then by pointing out the political implications of the ruling before the election.
New York Judge Juan Merchan described Trump’s case as “unique in the history of this nation” and decided to delay sentencing until November to ensure that the jury’s verdict “is respected and addressed in a way that is not diluted by the enormity of the upcoming presidential election.”
Now that Donald Trump has been re-elected president, his legal circumstances could change further and potentially result in immunity.
According to Boston College law professor Jeffrey Cohen, Judge Merchan could opt for a softer sentence against Trump, such as one day of probation, or, more likely, dismiss the sentence until Trump is no longer president.
“A sitting president would not be forced to be imprisoned while he is serving his presidency, and so he could theoretically serve it once his term is over,” said Cohen, who noted that a postponement of sentencing could incentivize Trump to stay in office as long as possible.
“If he wins, I think realistically speaking, there will be no meaningful sentencing,” Friedman Agnifilo said before the election.
Trump’s lawyers may also try to delay the ruling; in fact, on Nov. 12, Judge Merchan is expected to rule on Trump’s request to dismiss the case because of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that granted him immunity from prosecution for official acts committed as president; if Merchan denies the motion, Trump may try to appeal it immediately to try to delay the ruling further.
Trump has also asked that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit transfer the state case to federal court, a move his lawyers could use to get a delay in sentencing. Unlike the federal cases, for which he could pardon himself, the state case would likely remain beyond the reach of a presidential pardon, even if Trump succeeds in moving the case to a federal court, according to Cohen.
