Judge Juan Merchan has determined the sentence in Donald Trump’s case, accused of misappropriation of funds for illegal payments to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress, and this was a „sentence without penalty,” meaning the defendant was found guilty of the crimes committed, but the court does not impose any measures.
The fact that it involved the institution of the elected president, the judge said, and not the person temporarily holding this position, weighed heavily.
During Tuesday, Samuel Alito Jr., one of the nine justices of the US Supreme Court, received a phone call from Donald Trump, as reported by The New York Times.
Shortly after the information was made public, the judge confirmed the call, stating that he was contacted by the president-elect, but they did not discuss the motion filed by his attorneys, seeking a postponement of sentencing in the Stormy Daniels case.
Diminished Authority
On May 30, 2024, 12 jurors in a New York court found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 charges brought by prosecutors for the illegal payment of sums of money to his former partner, Stormy Daniels, to keep their romantic relationship private.
Judge Juan Merchan presided over the trial, and after the guilty verdict from the jurors, he repeatedly postponed the decision to impose a sentence.
Never before has this court been faced with such unique and remarkable circumstances
Judge Juan Merchan
In a motion published a week ago, Judge Merchan specified that the sentence he will give in this case will not involve imprisonment or suspended imprisonment.
For Donald Trump, determining a sentence in a case where he was found guilty poses a challenging legal hurdle, making him the first president criminally convicted in US history.
In addition to his diminished authority, a vulnerability so close to taking the oath for a second term will also have political implications within the Republican Party, providing strong arguments to conservative voices critical of Donald Trump.
A Surprising Vote at the Supreme Court
For this reason, the attorneys of the president-elect urgently filed a motion with the Supreme Court of Justice, seeking an urgent decision from the justices with the highest authority in the American justice system to postpone the sentencing in the Stormy Daniels case until after Donald Trump completes his term as US president.
The argument used in the petition filed was that there was a previous Supreme Court decision recognizing the American president "broad immunity" during the term of office.
On January 9, by a 5-4 majority, the justices rejected Trump's request, leaving the way open for the imposition of a sentence in the New York case.
The Supreme Court's decision is somewhat surprising and has long-term legal consequences for the American political system.
The composition of the institution is deeply conservative. Six of the nine justices, appointed for life by the sitting US president, are Republicans, three of whom were appointed by Donald Trump during his previous term: Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
The latter, along with John G. Roberts, the Chief Justice, also a Republican, plus all three Democratic justices - Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson - voted to reject Trump's motion.
Trump, Dissatisfied with His Justices
In addition to the surprise that two justices of the Court, appointed by Republican presidents, one of them by Trump himself, voted alongside Democrats, the decision limits the head of state's immunity to possible unintended violations of the law during the term of office but does not remove the legal consequences of deliberate actions.
This defendant has caused significant damage to the public perception of the criminal justice system and has put the court officials in jeopardy...
Joshua Steinglass, the prosecutor in the case, referring to Donald Trump
The fact that Donald Trump directly called a Supreme Court justice raises the possibility of the president-elect exerting political pressure to influence a legal decision.
The existence of such a phone call, now made public, is already sparking reactions, and Donald Trump has exposed himself to potential new legal proceedings.
"We did not discuss the emergency request he filed today, and indeed, I did not even know at the time of our conversation that such a request would be filed. Additionally, we did not discuss any other matter that is pending or that may come before the Supreme Court in the future or any prior decision of the Supreme Court involving the president-elect," stated Justice Samuel Alito in a press release.
Regardless of how the respective parties argue the phone call, Donald Trump has shown total dissatisfaction with the fact that the justices he appointed are not "helping him," he complained to associates, according to the article published by The New York Times.
A Complicated Start to the Term
With a few days before the swearing-in on January 20, Donald Trump is far from the political dominance he expected after winning the elections on November 4, both in terms of electoral votes and the popular vote.
Already, friction has begun between him and the Republicans in Congress, his status as a convicted criminal, and the detachment of some constitutional judges from his political vision put him in a difficult situation from the first day of his presidency.
I've been treated very, very unfairly, and I thank you very much!
Donald Trump, addressing Judge Juan Merchan
Although Donald Trump's speech and attitude have not significantly changed in the past four years, the world has changed, and American society along with it.
Institutions, Opposition representatives, as well as European states indicate that today they are more prepared to interact with an authoritarian American president, driven by personal conflicts and internal and international agendas that are too unrealistic or unattainable.