Judge sentences Donald Trump in hush money case but declines to impose any punishment
President-elect Donald Trump was formally sentenced Friday in his hush money case, but the judge declined to impose any punishment. The outcome cements Trump’s conviction while freeing him to return to the White House unencumbered by the threat of a jail term or a fine.
President-elect Donald Trump was formally sentenced Friday in his hush money case, but the judge declined to impose any punishment. The outcome cements Trump’s conviction while freeing him to return to the White House unencumbered by the threat of a jail term or a fine. It was a case that for the first time put a former president and major presidential candidate in a courtroom as a criminal defendant. The case was the only one of four criminal indictments that has gone to trial and possibly the only one that ever will. “Today’s event was a despicable charade, and 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,” he wrote in a lengthy post on his social media platform after the sentencing. Following the historic sentencing, the mood outside the courthouse is festive, with a few dozen Trump supporters waving American flags and signs emblazoned with the president-elect’s face.
Some described the scene as a reunion of sorts, a chance to catch up with others who’d attended demonstrations during the trial while celebrating both the election victory and the outcome of the case.
“No penalty at all is great news,” said Jerry Gasowski, a retired power plant worker who drove into the city from Long Island. “It’s great news for our country.” But before sentencing they chided Trump’s attacks on the legal system throughout and after the case.
“The once and future President of the United States has engaged in a coordinated campaign to undermine its legitimacy,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said. As Judge Merchan delivered the sentence, Trump sat upright, lips pursed, frowning slightly. He tilted his head to the side as the judge wished him “godspeed in your second term in office.”
President-elect Donald Trump was formally sentenced Friday in his hush money case, but the judge declined to impose any punishment. The outcome cements Trump’s conviction while freeing him to return to the White House unencumbered by the threat of a jail term or a fine.
Trump’s sentence of an unconditional discharge caps a norm-smashing case that saw the former and future president charged with 34 felonies, put on trial for almost two months and convicted on every count. Yet, the legal detour — and sordid details aired in court of a plot to bury affair allegations — didn’t hurt him with voters, who elected him to a second term.
Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan could have sentenced the 78-year-old Republican to up to four years in prison. Instead, he chose a sentence that sidestepped thorny constitutional issues by effectively ending the case but assured that Trump will become the first person convicted of a felony to assume the presidency. Merchan noted that despite the extraordinary circumstances, the trial itself carried the hallmarks of every other proceeding in this courthouse.
“It is the legal protections afforded to the office of the president of the United States that are extraordinary, not the occupant,” he said. Merchan says a judge must consider the facts of the case as well as aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
“Never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances,” he said. He argued that voters saw what happened in this courtroom and, like him, thought it was a disgrace and supported him overwhelmingly in the election. “It’s been a political witch hunt,” he said. “It was done to damage my reputation so that I would lose the election, and obviously, that didn’t work.”