New York Judge Will Sentence Donald Trump on January 10

Donald Trump will be sentenced in the Stormy Daniels hush money case just 10 days before his inauguration, a judge has ruled.

Justice Juan Merchan denied the incoming president's motion to dismiss the case and throw out the guilty verdict due to his election victory.

In a dramatic filing on Friday afternoon the judge said the Republican president-elect may appear for sentencing on January 10 either in person or virtually.

Merchan also revealed he is unlikely to jail Trump, 78, and could give him an 'unconditional discharge.'

That means Trump would not have to pay any fines or serve any probation.

He had been potentially facing up to four years behind bars.

Merchan wrote that it was the 'most viable solution to ensure finality' while also allowing Trump to continue his appeal.

In May, a jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 payment to a [adult film] star - Stormy Daniels - to keep her quiet ahead of the 2016 presidential election about their alleged affair 18 years earlier.

In dramatic court testimony, Daniels went into salacious and lurid detail about the night she claimed to have spent with Trump during a charity golf tournament in Nevada . He has denied the encounter took place.