Trump requests annulment of guilty verdict in hush money case
Merchan announced that he would make a decision on this case on September 6th. Trump was found guilty of all 34 charges by the jury on May 30th, for concealing a hush money payment of 130,000 dollars (approximately 122,000 Euro today) to former porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Trump is the first former US President to be criminally charged in history.
The sentence for Trump, handed down by Judge Merchan, has not been announced yet. This was originally planned for this Thursday. However, Merchan rescheduled the sentencing announcement on September 18th - "if it is still necessary", as he announced at the time.
The conservative-dominated Supreme Court granted Trump broad immunity for official government actions, which was celebrated by the expected Republican presidential candidate as a triumph.
The hush money payment of 130,000 dollars was paid to Stormy Daniels before the election and before Trump entered the White House. It was then allegedly repaid to Trump by his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who received the money and later returned it to Trump while he was already President - a process that was reportedly concealed through the falsification of business documents.
The evidence presented by the prosecution included actions taken by Trump while he was already President and statements from White House staff. Trump's lawyers argued that the Supreme Court had not granted him complete immunity for all his actions during his tenure. Immunity does not protect actions taken as a private person, not as a public official.
If the motion to dismiss the verdict is denied and the guilty verdict stands, experts expect a probationary or fine sentence for Trump. However, given that this is the first time Trump has been criminally charged and it is not a violent crime, experts anticipate a probationary or fine sentence.
Trump is expected to be officially nominated as the Republican candidate for the presidential election on November 5th by the Republicans at a party convention. Trump faces three other criminal charges. In two of these cases, it concerns his attempts to overturn his electoral defeat in 2020 against the current President Joe Biden, and in the other case, it concerns the removal of confidential government documents to his private residence in the state of Florida.
The outcome of these three proceedings following the Supreme Court's immunity decision is completely uncertain.
- After being found guilty by Judge Juan Merchan, Donald Trump awaits the announcement of his judgment on September 18th, a date he previously had set for the announcement but later rescheduled.
- Despite the hush money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels being concealed through the falsification of business documents, the balance sheet of former US-President Trump may still reveal relevant financial information in relation to this case.
- Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the case against Trump, stated that he would make a decision on the sentencing on September 6th, but later rescheduled it to September 18th due to uncertain circumstances.
- The Supreme Court granted Trump broad immunity for official government actions, a decision that was celebrated by Juan Merchan's expected Republican counterpart in the presidential election, but Trump's lawyers argue that this immunity does not protect all his actions during his tenure.
- Trump's sentencing for concealing the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election may result in a probationary or fine sentence, according to experts, considering that it's his first criminal charge not involving violence and is not related to his official duties as President.
