4 hours ago
Last Updated:January 10, 2025, 22:08 IST
New York Judge Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to unconditional discharge in the hush money case, making him the first convicted felon to take office, albeit without a jail term or a fine.
US President-elect Donald Trump. (AP file photo)
US President-elect Donald Trump was spared prison time, fines or probation for his criminal conviction in the hush money case as Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan sentenced the 78-year-old Republican leader to unconditional discharge days before his January 20 inauguration.
The case pertains to a hush money payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election that had loomed large over Trump’s bid to retake the White House. Notably, Trump was the first US President-elect to become convicted in a criminal case.
By granting an unconditional discharge, Merchan places a judgment of guilt on Trump’s permanent record without any other legal penalty. Trump will be the first president to take office with a criminal conviction. Merchan said he was imposing the sentence because the US Constitution protects presidents from prosecution.
‘A Truly Extraordinary Case’
The verdict came 10 days before Trump’s inauguration, meaning that the President-elect who was convicted of all 34 felony counts would return to the White House without the threat of a jail term or a fine. However, his conviction still stands and he will enter office as a convicted felon.
Merchan further noted that this has been an extraordinary case. “Never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstance. This has been a truly extraordinary case," he added.
The judge said like when facing any other defendant, he must consider any aggravating factors before imposing a sentence, but the legal protection that Trump will have as president “is a factor that overrides all others". However, he said, “Despite the extraordinary breadth of those legal protections, one power they do not provide is that they do not erase a jury verdict".
The verdict came a day after the Supreme Court rejected the President-elect’s request to drop the proceeding. Prosecutors on Friday said they supported a no-penalty sentence, but they chided Trump’s attacks on the legal system throughout and after the case.
What Happens Next?
Trump, briefly addressing the court as he appeared virtually from his Florida home, said his criminal trial and conviction has “been a very terrible experience" and insisted he committed no crime. He also repeated his allegations of being the victim of a “political witch hunt" as he vowed to appeal the guilty verdict.
“It was done to damage my reputation so I would lose the election and obviously that didn’t work," he said. “I’m totally innocent, I did nothing wrong."
Now that he has been sentenced, he is free to pursue the appeal, a process which could take years and play out while he is serving a four-year term as president. The six-week trial last year played out against the extraordinary backdrop of Trump’s successful campaign to retake the White House.
The Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of all 34 counts on May 30 of falsifying business records to cover up his former lawyer Michael Cohen’s $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels for her silence about a sexual encounter she had with Trump, which he denied. Prosecutors argued that despite the tawdry nature of the allegations, the case was an attempt to corrupt the 2016 election.
Trump argued the case – along with three other criminal indictments and civil lawsuits accusing him of fraud, defamation and sexual abuse – was an effort by opponents to weaponise the justice system against him and harm his reelection campaign. He frequently lashed out at prosecutors and witnesses, and Merchan ultimately fined Trump $10,000 for violating a gag order.
Before the hearing, a handful of Trump supporters and critics gathered outside. One group held a banner that read, “Trump is guilty." The other held one that said, “Stop partisan conspiracy" and “Stop political witch hunt."
The Trump attorneys have leaned heavily into assertions of presidential immunity from prosecution, and they got a boost in July from a Supreme Court decision that affords former commanders-in-chief considerable immunity.
(with inputs from agencies)
Location :New York, United States of America (USA)
First Published:January 10, 2025, 22:06 IST
News world 'A Truly Extraordinary Case': New York Judge In Trump's Hush Money Case Verdict
