Donald Trump, who was found guilty by a New York criminal court this spring of making secret payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, will learn on January 10 what his sentence will be, which will not be a prison term without parole, the presiding judge announced in this historic trial.

Trump must “appear before the court for his sentence, following his conviction, on January 10, 2025,” Judge Juan Merchan ordered, while clarifying that he does not “intend to impose a prison sentence” on the man who will become the 47th president. of the United States on January 20.

The judge said Trump, 78, could appear at his sentencing either in person or virtually.

In a statement, Trump spokesman Steven Chung said there should be no conviction in the case.

“This case should never have reached the court and the Constitution requires its immediate dismissal,” he said.

Trump’s defense lawyers had argued that having the case pending during his presidency would impede his ability to govern.

Merchan rejected that argument, saying that overturning the jury’s verdict would “undermine the rule of law in countless ways.”

The case concerns a $130,000 payment by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels. The payment was to ensure her silence before the 2016 election about an affair she said she had a decade earlier with Trump, who denies it.

In May, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal the payment. He had pleaded not guilty and called the case an attempt by the Manhattan district attorney to damage his 2024 campaign.