NEW YORK—The judge in the hush money case sentenced President-elect Donald Trump on Friday, but he did not impose any punishment. This decision solidifies Trump’s guilt and allows him to return to the White House without having to worry about a jail sentence or a fine.
With the punishment-free ruling, a remarkable case that saw a former president and prominent presidential candidate appear in court as a criminal defendant for the first time comes to a calm conclusion. Out of four criminal indictments, this case was the only one to go to trial and may be the only one that does.
The 78-year-old Republican might have received a sentence of up to four years in jail from Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan. Rather, he opted for a sentence that avoided difficult constitutional questions by essentially bringing the case to a close while guaranteeing that Trump would be the first convicted felon to take office.
Trump made a brief virtual presence from his Palm Beach, Florida, home on Friday instead of making an in-person appearance, unlike during his trial last year when he brought supporters to the courthouse and spoke to media outside.
On a video screen, Trump asserted once more that he had committed no crime while sitting next to one of his attorneys in a dark suit with the American flag in the background.
The witch hunt has been political. Trump claimed that the attempt to harm his reputation in order to cause him to lose the election was unsuccessful.
Trump referred to the case as an embarrassment to New York and a weaponization of the government.
Following the hearing, Trump declared in a social media post that it had been a vile farce and that he intended to challenge his conviction.
The case that saw the former and future president charged with 34 felonies, placed on trial for nearly two months, and found guilty by a jury on all counts culminated with Trump’s punishment of unconditional discharge, which is unusual for felony convictions. He was voted to a second term by voters, however, despite the legal detour and the vile details of a scheme to cover up the affair charges that were revealed in court.
According to Merchan, he must take into account any aggravating circumstances before delivering a sentence, just like he would with any other defendant, but the legal protection Trump will enjoy as president outweighs all other considerations.
Merchan stated that even if those protections are incredibly comprehensive, they do not grant the authority to overturn a jury conviction.
The soon-to-be president settled back into his chair as the judge pointed out that voters had put Trump back in the White House.
Trump’s video statement to the court lasted almost six minutes. He maintained that he did not conduct any crimes and said that his criminal trial and sentence had been an extremely awful experience.
Prior to Friday’s hearing, Merchan had stated that he intended to impose a no-penalty sentence, which excluded probation, jail term, and fines.
Although they criticized Trump’s assaults on the legal system during and after the case, prosecutors stated on Friday that they were in favor of a sentence without the possibility of punishment.
According to prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, the former and prospective US president has launched a concerted effort to erode its legitimacy.
Steinglass claimed that rather than expressing regret, Trump has fostered contempt for the jury verdict and the criminal justice system. His demands for retribution against the case’s participants, such as the disbarment of the judge, have harmed the public’s perception of the criminal justice system for years and put court officers in danger.
The former president was sat with his attorney, Todd Blanche, who he appointed as the second-highest ranking Justice Department official in his upcoming government, as he made an appearance from his Mar-a-Lago residence.
The American public was given the opportunity to see and determine for themselves whether this was the appropriate case to bring. “And they made a decision,” Blanche stated. Therefore, President Trump will take over as the president of the United States in ten days.
A little over 30 minutes passed throughout the hearing.
Following that, Trump was supposed to get back to work on his new administration’s plans and welcome conservative House Republicans who were meeting to talk about GOP priorities.
A small group of Trump fans and detractors gathered outside prior to the session. A banner with the words “Trump is guilty” was held by one group. One of them read, “Stop political witch hunts and partisan conspiracies.”
The accusations were brought by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.
Trump was accused in the hush money case of falsifying his financial records to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Late in Trump’s 2016 campaign, she received payment to keep a sexual encounter she claims the two had ten years prior a secret. He claims that there was nothing sexual between them and that his political rivals staged a false case against him in an attempt to harm him.
In a court filing on Monday, Bragg’s office claimed that Trump had committed grave crimes that seriously damaged the integrity of the New York financial market and the sanctity of the democratic process.
The underlying allegations were shady and intricately linked to Trump’s political ascent, even though the precise charges included checks and ledgers. As part of a larger attempt to prevent voters from learning about Trump’s alleged extramarital affairs, prosecutors claimed that Daniels was paid out through Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer at the time.
Trump disputes that the purported interactions took place. According to his attorneys, his goal in suppressing the news was to safeguard his family, not his campaign. Prosecutors said that Cohen’s payments for Daniels’s costs were falsely recorded as legal fees, but Trump maintains that’s just the case.
Trump’s attorneys made an unsuccessful attempt to avoid a trial. They have used almost every legal tool at their disposal to try to get the verdict overturned, the case dismissed, or at the very least, the sentencing postponed since his conviction in May on 34 charges of fabricating corporate records.
A Supreme Court ruling in July that grants past commanders-in-chief significant immunity gave the Trump lawyers, who have largely relied on claims of presidential immunity from prosecution, a boost.
When Daniels was compensated in 2016, Trump was a private man and a presidential contender. The following year, when the reimbursements to Cohen were made and documented, he was president.
Originally scheduled for July, Merchan, a Democrat, continually delayed the punishment. However, citing a need for finality, he chose Friday as the date last week.
Then, Trump’s attorneys made a last-ditch effort to stop the sentencing. The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision on Thursday night to not postpone the punishment ended their last hope.
Ahead of trial, the other criminal cases that previously threatened Trump have either been resolved or have stagnated.
After Trump s election, special counsel Jack Smith closed out the federal prosecutions over Trump s handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. A state-level Georgia election interference case is locked in uncertainty after prosecutor Fani Willis was removed from it.
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