BREAKING NEWSDonald Trump Gets No Jail Time or Penalties as Judge Sentences Him to 'Unconditional Discharge' in New York Hush Money Case
Donald Trump will not face jail time.
Judge Juan Merchan sentenced President-elect Donald Trump to an "unconditional discharge" in his hush money case on Friday, January 10.
The GOP leader is officially a convicted felon now, but he will face no fine, probation, jail time or any other form of punishment for his 34 felony convictions.
Donald Trump is a convicted felon.
The soon-to-be president appeared virtually from Florida for his sentencing on Friday morning at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in New York City. The hearing was scheduled at the last-minute so the case could be closed before Inauguration Day on January 20.
The New York State Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Trump's frantic attempts to cancel his sentencing.
He preempted Merchan's announcement of his sentence by declaring that his trial had been "a very terrible experience," "a political witch hunt" and a "setback" for New York's legal system.
Donald Trump will be sworn into office on January 20.
“The protections afforded the office of the president are not a mitigating factor. They do not reduce the seriousness of the crime or justify its commission in any way,” Merchan said moments before handing down Trump’s sentence. “The protections are, however, a legal mandate which, pursuant to the rule of law, this court must respect and follow.”
“It was the citizenry of this nation that recently decided that, once again, you should have the benefits of those protections, which include, among other things, the supremacy clause and presidential immunity. It is through that lens and that reality that this court must determine a lawful sentence,” he continued. “This court has determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of judgment of conviction, without encroaching on the highest office of the land, is unconditional discharge. Therefore, at this time, I impose that sentence to cover all 34 counts.”
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Donald Trump was found guilty of 34 criminal charges.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office brought an unprecedented case against Trump when they claimed he paid off adult film star Stormy Daniels in the final days of his 2016 presidential election.
In falsifying the records, the DA's office argued that the 78-year-old was more broadly attempting to bury evidence of an illegal conspiracy to influence the 2016 election.
Trump's three other criminal cases in D.C., Georgia and Florida never went to trial, but in separate civil lawsuits since leaving the White House, the ex-president has been found liable for committing fraud while building his real estate empire, as well as sexually abusing and defaming former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll.
Donald Trump appeared in court virtually from Florida.
Trump will be sworn in as United States president for a second time on Monday, January 20.
