Donald Trump is now president-elect after defeating Kamala Harris
While Donald Trump may be president-elect, he does have an upcoming sentencing for his involvement in the hush money scandal – but what happens now?
The former president will be returning to The White House in January after defeating Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential election.
Trump declared victory at his campaign’s HQ in West Palm Beach, Florida earlier on Wednesday (6 November) after being projected to win the battleground states of North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
The 45th US president said he had ‘made history’ as he was joined on stage by some of his key allies.
ve delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that children deserve,” Trump said.
“And that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age for America.”
While Trump prepares for his return to the Oval Office, he is scheduled to be sentenced on November 26 for his involvement in a hush money case.
Trump is a convicted felon after he was found guilty in Manhattan on all 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Trump had previously denied the accusations, which claim that the records were linked to a hush money payment to adult film star, Stormy Daniels, by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen.
After he was found guilty, Trump described the trial as a ‘disgrace’ and ‘rigged’ and said he was an ‘innocent man’.
Now Trump is president-elect, what impact, if any, will that have on his sentencing scheduled for later this month?
Well, it was previously confirmed that whether Trump won or lost the election, he would have a mandatory sentencing, Business Insider notes.
However, there is a chance the date may be pushed back, as Trump could argue he is too busy running the country.
While it was never really expected Trump would face jail time for the charges, him now being president-elect rules out the possibility of prison, according to Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers.
“Trump winning makes it logistically impossible and a certainty that he won’t receive any time,” he told Business Insider.
Meanwhile, speaking of Trump, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, former chief of the Manhattan District Attorney’s trial division, said: “If he wins, say goodbye to all the criminal cases,” as per ABC News.
The law expert went on to say a Trump win would act as a ‘get out of jail free card’ for him.