A POLITICAL MIXED BAG
The hush money case was widely viewed as less serious than the three other criminal cases Trump faced, in which he was accused of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and retaining classified documents after leaving the White House. Trump pleaded not guilty in all cases.
But Bragg’s case was the only one to reach trial in the face of an onslaught of challenges from Trump’s lawyers. After Trump’s Nov. 5 election victory, federal prosecutors backed off their two cases due to Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
The remaining state case, brought in Georgia over efforts to reverse the 2020 election results in that state, is in limbo after a court in December disqualified the lead prosecutor on the case.
The hush money case was a mixed bag politically. Contributions to Trump’s campaign surged after he was indicted in March 2023, likely helping him vanquish his rivals for the Republican nomination. During the trial, polling showed a majority of voters took the charges seriously, and his standing among Republicans slipped after the guilty verdict.
But the case quickly faded from the headlines, particularly after President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance led him to drop out with Vice President Kamala Harris replacing him on the Democratic ticket, and after a gunman’s bullet came inches from killing Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Merchan initially scheduled the sentencing for July 11, but pushed it back multiple times at Trump’s request. In agreeing in September to defer the sentencing until after the election, the judge wrote that he was wary of being perceived as placing his thumb on the scales.
Falsification of business records is punishable by up to four years in prison. While Trump would have been unlikely to get jail time due to his advanced age and lack of a criminal history, legal experts said it was not impossible, especially given his gag order violations.
Trump’s victory and looming inauguration made a sentence of jail or probation even less practical.
