Where does Trump's verdict stand in New York after the massive election victory?

After his overwhelming election victory, President-elect Donald Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in his Manhattan criminal trial later this month. Presiding Judge Juan Merchan will first decide whether to dismiss the charges entirely after the Supreme Court ruled on presidential immunity earlier this year.

Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records following his criminal trial in Manhattan in May. District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office worked to prove that Trump falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election to further her claims of an alleged affair with Trump to silence the year 2006. Trump has maintained his innocence in the case.

The announcement of the verdict against Trump is scheduled for November 26th, which is already a four-month delay compared to the original date of July 11th.

Trump's lawyers had asked Merchan to overturn the former president's conviction in the New York v. Trump case after the Supreme Court ruled in July that former presidents enjoy significant immunity from prosecution for official acts but not for unofficial acts. Merchan is expected to decide the status of the charges by November 12th.

“A normal judge would dismiss this case, and then the prosecutor would have to decide what, if anything, is left so we can consider retrying the case. But Judge Merchan has shown that he is nothing but an ordinary judge.” And the catch here is, if he were normal he would deny it, but because he is not normal he will probably deny it. But because it is an immunity claim, that gives the Trump defense team the right, the legal right, to immediately appeal his denial,” Cully Stimson, deputy director of the Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, told Fox News Digital.

Trump's verdict on 'modern-day Salem witch trial' signals 'open season' for former presidents: experts

Stimson said that even if Merchan rejects Trump's claim of immunity, the Trump team appeals the decision and an appeals court also rejects Trump's claim, the president-elect would not face imprisonment.

“In every way, no matter what happens if [Merchan] denies it, and the appeals court…follows the judge, and then the judge gets to convict him. Even then, the Justice Department will step in and say, “Look, under the Supremacy Clause, you can't impose a criminal conviction, especially a prison sentence, on a sitting president.” And so this case will sit on hold until Trump leaves office. But from a practical point of view, this case and the Fanni Willis case are closed,” he said.

Judge Juan Merchan poses for a photo in his chambers on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photos)

Trump pleaded not guilty in the case and denied any such affair with Daniels. The now president-elect had called the trial a “sham” and called Merchan “corrupt” and “conflicted,” apparently referring to the judge's family ties to the Democratic Party. Trump also called the case a “lawfare” being promoted by the Biden-Harris administration to harm his chances of winning the 2024 presidential election.

Trump cannot pardon himself at his inauguration because it was a state matter.

Former President Donald Trump appears in court with members of his legal team for an arraignment on charges stemming from his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury in New York City on April 4, 2023. Reuters/Andrew Kelly/Pool (Reuters)

Stimson went on to say that given the Supreme Court's immunity ruling, it was impossible to approach the case with a scalpel and separate the evidence related to Trump's first term in the White House and “official actions” in that position from the evidence related to his life remove before he became president.

TRUMP LAWYERS ASK TO MOVE NEW YORK CRIMINAL CASE TO FEDERAL COURT, CITING SCOTUS' IMMUNITY RULING

“[Merchan] is not a traditional judge, but he won't say there is no immunity for Trump because… . The highest court in the land has declared that presidents enjoy absolute immunity for their official actions, and so he must recognize that the question is whether he has the temperament and judgment – which he has not demonstrated, at least so far – to do so fairly and apply in an impartial manner and dismiss the charges,” Stimson told Fox News Digital.

“By dismissing the charges, the ball is back in Alvin Bragg’s court. If Alvin Bragg wants to double down on stupidity, which he often did, he can.” [reopen the case]. But he won't get anywhere with that, because the president will have taken office by then. And the Justice Department will abide by the supremacy clause that you cannot bring your case, your criminal case, against a sitting president while he is president,” he continued.

JUDGE MERCHAN DELAYS TRUMP'S SENTENCE UNTIL AFTER THE ELECTION

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks to the media after a jury found former President Donald Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York. (AP/Seth Wenig)

Andrew McCarthy, a Fox contributor and former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, also wrote in an editorial for Fox Digital this week that Trump should not face prison time in this case.

“Understand, Trump will not go to prison even if Merchan imposes a sentence. Although the charges are felonies, they are not serious enough under New York law to warrant immediate incarceration; Trump will be released on bail pending an appeal,” he wrote.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Given that there is no way Trump will be sent to Rikers Island by a Manhattan judge, it would be prudent to delay the ruling and allow Trump to pursue his immunity challenge. This would avoid the impropriety of subduing the next president.” “The United States will be criminally convicted and sentenced before he takes office,” he continued.

“Lawfare has been terrible for the country. The resounding victory that Americans gave Trump should be his death knell,” McCarthy added later in his article.