(NEW YORK) — In a significant turn of events, a judge announced on Friday that President-elect Donald Trump will be sentenced in his hush money case on January 10—just days before his anticipated return to the White House. The judge hinted, however, that incarceration is unlikely for Trump.

This development positions Trump to be the first president to enter office with a felony conviction.

Judge Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Trump’s trial, indicated in his written decision that he is likely to impose a conditional discharge, which would allow the case to be dismissed if Trump stays clear of legal issues moving forward.

Merchan rejected Trump’s plea to have the verdict overturned, citing claims of presidential immunity and the upcoming inauguration. The judge stated that he found “no legal barrier to sentencing” Trump and stressed the importance of resolving the case before Trump’s swearing-in on January 20.

“Only by bringing this matter to a close can the interests of justice be served,” Merchan remarked.

Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts related to falsifying business records, linked to a scheme to hide a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the critical final weeks of his 2016 campaign. This payment was intended to silence her claims of a past sexual encounter with the then-married Trump. He has consistently maintained that her allegations are false and asserts he did nothing wrong.

Following Trump’s election victory on November 5, Merchan paused the proceedings and postponed the sentencing indefinitely, allowing both sides to evaluate the future of the case.

Read More: What Trump’s Win Means for His Legal Challenges

Trump’s legal representatives urged Merchan to dismiss the case, arguing that it could create unconstitutional obstacles to the new president’s governance.

While prosecutors acknowledged the need to consider Trump’s upcoming presidency, they maintained that the conviction should stand.

They proposed several options, including putting the case on hold during his term or ensuring he would not face jail time. Another idea was to close the case while formally recognizing both his conviction and pending appeal—an innovative method sometimes used in state courts when defendants pass away during the appeal process.

Upon taking office on January 20, Trump will become the first former president to have been convicted of a crime and the first convicted felon to assume the presidency.

Post-conviction, the 78-year-old could face penalties ranging from fines or probation up to a maximum of four years in prison.

The central issue in this case was how Trump recorded the reimbursement to his attorney for the payment made to Daniels.

Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, initially made the payment. He later recouped the funds through multiple payments that Trump’s business classified as legal expenses. Most of these checks were signed by Trump during his presidency.

Prosecutors argued that this categorization was designed to obscure the true nature of the payments and was part of a broader effort to prevent damaging information from reaching voters during Trump’s initial campaign.

Trump countered that Cohen was legitimately compensated for legal services and that suppressing Daniels’ claims was intended to protect his family’s privacy rather than to influence voters.

At the time Cohen paid Daniels in October 2016, Trump was a private citizen running for president. He was serving as president when Cohen received reimbursement, and Cohen testified that they discussed this repayment in the Oval Office.

A Republican, Trump has labeled the verdict as a “rigged, disgraceful” result of a “witch hunt” led by Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Prior to Trump’s election in November, his attorneys sought to overturn the conviction based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling from July that established broad immunity for presidents against criminal charges. This request was still pending when the election introduced new complexities.

In addition to seeking the dismissal of the conviction, Trump attempted to move the case to federal court, where he could also claim immunity. However, a federal judge repeatedly denied this request, prompting Trump to file an appeal.

The hush money case is the only one of Trump’s four criminal indictments that has gone to trial.

After the election, special counsel Jack Smith wrapped up two federal cases against Trump—one focusing on alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and another concerning the alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Meanwhile, a separate state-level case regarding election interference in Georgia remains mostly stagnant.