Ten days before he returns to the White House, Donald Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in New York Friday. The proceeding is slated to bring closure to the case that centered on a hush-money scheme involving payouts to a porn star, a Playboy model and a Trump Tower doorman hatched more than a decade ago and its coverup — one that was years in the making and saw Trump become the first U.S. president to be found guilty of breaking the law.
The president-elect is expected to appear virtually at lower Manhattan’s 100 Centre St at 9:30 a.m. before state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who’s said he plans to impose an unconditional discharge, meaning no prison time.
Trump tried to dodge being sentenced in every way he could, firing off a barrage of appeals to four different courts after Merchan scheduled the sentencing last week. The Supreme Court had the last word late Thursday, denying Trump’s request to stop the sentencing from going ahead.
Here’s what to know ahead of the historic hearing.
1. What’s an unconditional discharge?
The sentence Merchan has said he’s “inclined” to impose means what it sounds like — instead of being thrown behind bars, Trump will be discharged without any conditions.
More typically heard of for Manhattan defendants who receive lenient terms is a “conditional’ discharge, which could see a judge agree to release someone if they agree not to get rearrested for a certain period, attend anger management sessions, go to counseling, do community service, or participate in other forms of rehabilitation.
Often, the agreement can include quitting one’s job if it was where the offense took place.
Last week, Merchan said Trump’s conviction authorized a term of incarceration — the charges carry up to four years — but that was no longer a “practicable recommendation,” as prosecutors had conceded, with Trump set to return to office.
Merchan said his proposed sentence would be “the most viable solution to ensure finality” and allow Trump to pursue an appeal of his conviction, which he can’t do until after sentencing.
2. What will happen at the hearing?
With Trump set to appear virtually, the proceeding will differ from his attendance at trial, which saw him accompanied by the Secret Service each day and attendees subjected to rigorous security checks.
Merchan is expected to hear from prosecutors before he hands down the sentence. Trump will also have a chance to address the court, which many defendants use as an opportunity to convince the judge of their remorse. Trump continues to maintain his innocence and has said he will appeal.
Sentencings also frequently feature victim impact statements, though it’s not clear whether prosecutors have anyone lined up to speak about harm suffered as a result of the hush money scheme.
3. What exactly did Trump do?
On May 30, Trump was found guilty of falsifying 34 New York business records in 2017 after he had moved into the White House – representing 11 checks to his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, 11 corresponding invoices, and 12 ledger entries.
The payments reimbursed Cohen for the $130,000 he paid porn star Stormy Daniels 11 days before the 2016 election so she wouldn’t go public with her account of an alleged sordid sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.
Prosecutors alleged Trump falsified the records to cover up the scheme that violated a New York law that makes it illegal for people to conspire to promote or prevent a person’s election to public office by unlawful means, like tax crimes, campaign finance violations and falsifying bank records.
Cohen and tabloid publisher David Pecker at trial testified that they devised the scheme to get Trump into office in August 2015, planning with Trump to hide unflattering information about his past from voters and ruin the reputations of his opponents.
In addition to Daniels, the men coordinated silencing former Playboy model Karen McDougal about her claims of a monthslong affair with Trump and Dino Sajudin, a doorman who wanted to sell a story about Trump fathering a child with a maid out of wedlock.
Trump wasn’t the first person to be found guilty in connection to the scheme. Cohen pleaded guilty to federal crimes in 2018, including violating campaign finance laws, and received a three-year sentence.
Pecker received immunity for his cooperation in Cohen and Trump’s cases and effectively served as the star witness at Trump’s trial, where he told jurors he was still fond of the former president.
4. Will Trump’s conviction have any impact on his presidency?
Given his status as the incoming commander-in-chief, in addition to his wealth, Trump is not expected to face the same setbacks New Yorkers convicted of felonies commonly struggle with in finding employment or accessing housing. He’s covered for the next four years.
As Trump is a U.S. citizen, he’s not at risk of deportation. Some countries have restrictions for tourists with criminal records — including Canada, the U.K., Australia, Japan and Mexico — which means Trump could, in theory, need to apply for a waiver to travel to certain nations.
As a felon, Trump won’t be able to own a gun or serve on a jury anytime soon. Had he been convicted in another state, he might have lost his right to vote, but New York allows convicted felons to vote if they are not incarcerated.
The conviction will have little to no meaningful impact on Trump’s life compared to the outcomes of several civil cases in New York where he is facing financial penalties.
In February 2024, a Manhattan judge ordered Trump to pay around $455 million, including interest, to the New York attorney general after finding him liable for manipulating the value of his real estate assets by a matter of billions of dollars for years. Trump has appealed the judgment and is awaiting an answer from a midlevel New York appeals court.
And Trump owes E. Jean Carroll a total of $88.8 million after being found liable for sexually abusing her in a Midtown dressing room in the nineties and defaming her during his first term in office and after. Trump is also appealing the judgments in that case.
5. What about Trump’s other cases?
The criminal case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was the first of four filed against Trump after his first term and the only one to make it before a jury.
In June 2023, the Department of Justice charged him with hoarding classified documents impacting national security after leaving office and poorly storing them at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The DOJ moved to close the case after his election victory. Had that case made it to trial and Trump been found guilty, he could have faced up to 100 years in prison.
Months later, in August 2023, the DOJ brought another indictment against Trump, charging him with conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to disrupt an official proceeding, and related offenses for his alleged efforts to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election. Those charges, which were also dismissed after his election victory, carried decades in prison.
A federal appeals court on Thursday said that special counsel Jack Smith, who handled the federal cases against Trump, could release a report into his investigation in the election subversion case. Trump’s lawyers have aggressively sought to stop the report’s release. It does not appear the DOJ will release a report on the classified documents case anytime soon.
Weeks after the D.C. indictment, Trump was charged in a fourth case in Fulton County, Ga., concerning his alleged efforts to overturn President Biden’s win in Georgia. The case has been heavily backlogged, including with DA Fani Willis recently being removed after a Georgia appeals court found her relationship with a special prosecutor created an “appearance of impropriety.” Trump will be protected from the state-level prosecution in Georgia while he’s president.
