In his hush money case, President-elect Donald Trump was formally sentenced on Friday, but the court chose not to impose any penalties. The decision upholds Trump’s conviction and allows him to rejoin the White House without worrying about facing a fine or jail time.
Trump’s unconditional discharge sentence concludes a precedent-shattering case in which the former and future president was charged with 34 felonies, tried for nearly two months, and found guilty on all counts. Voters, however, elected him to a second term despite the legal detour and the vile details revealed in court about a scheme to cover up claims of an adulterous romance with a porn star.
For the first time, a former president and prominent presidential candidate appeared in court as a criminal defendant in this case. Out of the four criminal indictments against Trump, this case was the only one to go to trial and may be the only one that does.
In a lengthy social media post following the sentencing, Trump described the proceedings as a vile charade. He said, “Now that it is over, we will appeal this Hoax, which has no merit, and restore the trust of Americans in our once great System of Justice.”
The atmosphere outside the courthouse was joyous after the historic sentencing, with a few dozen Trump supporters brandishing American flags and signs featuring the president-elect’s image.
Some characterized the scene as a kind of reunion, an opportunity to reunite with people who had participated in protests during the trial while commemorating the case’s resolution and the election triumph.
Jerry Gasowski, a retired power plant worker who traveled into the city from Long Island, stated that there was no penalty at all, which was fantastic news. This is fantastic news for our nation.
The 78-year-old president-elect could have received a sentence of up to four years in prison 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.
He claimed that this court had never before been dealt with such a singular and exceptional collection of circumstances.
Meanwhile, Trump insisted he was innocent.
He told the court that it had been a political witch hunt. Obviously, it didn’t work. It was done to harm my reputation in the hopes that I would lose the election.
It should come as no surprise that Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass took issue with this description of the case.
According to Steinglass, the defendant’s actions directly challenge the rule of law, as this court has observed.
Additionally, he pointed out that Trump has threatened to take revenge on those he feels have harmed him in his legal affairs, which Steinglass said is meant to chill people.
According to Steinglass, the probation officer who interviewed Trump and wrote the pre-sentence report mentioned that Trump believes he is above the law.
In spite of everything, Steinglass stated that the most realistic punishment before his inauguration is an unconditional discharge.
The Associated Press
