Trump ordered to appear for sentencing in hush money trial

The New York judge who supervises the president-elect donald trumpThe hush money trial ordered him to appear for his long-delayed sentencing hearing on Jan. 10, more than seven months after he was found guilty of all 34 felony counts against him.

The unprecedented hearing will take place 10 days before Trump is sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.

However, he is not likely to face jail time. Judge Juan Merchán wrote in his Friday order that he agreed with prosecutors that spending time behind bars was no longer practical and noted that he could choose not to impose any punishment.

Trump can also appear in court by video conference, if he chooses, Merchan said.

The judge’s decision will preserve Trump’s status as a felon, a first for any president.

His lawyers argued after his victory in November that the case should be dismissed entirely. Prosecutors raised several options for his sentencing, which had already been delayed by a Supreme Court decision stating that presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for official acts.

Merchan determined last month that the charges against Trump did not involve any conduct related to his duties as president and were therefore valid.

He wrote in his Friday order that “a sentence of unconditional release appears to be the most viable solution to ensure finality and allow the defendant to pursue his appeal options.”

Unconditional release is a rare sentence that allows a defendant to go free without conditions.

The case against Trump centered on a $130,000 payment made shortly before the 2016 election to porn actress Stormy Daniels, who accepted the money by agreeing not to tell the public that she and Trump had sex. At the time, Trump’s candidacy was reeling in the wake of the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape, which revealed that he once made crude comments about assaulting women.

Trump denies the affair with Daniels and has maintained that he did nothing wrong.

The payment was transferred by his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, who detailed at trial how Trump paid him in installments over a year. Each of the charges against Trump relates to a New York state business history that prosecutors said had been falsified to cover up the hush money scheme.

Trump has said he intends to nominate two of his trial lawyers, Emil Bove and Todd Blanche, to positions at the Justice Department in his second administration as he seeks to surround himself with loyal supporters.