Ten days to his official return to the White House, United States (US) President-elect Donald Trump was formally sentenced Friday, January 10, in his hush money case.
However, the judge did not impose any punishment.
In the case, Trump was accused of doctoring his business’ records to veil a $130,000 payoff to porn actor Stormy Daniels. She was paid, late in Trump’s 2016 campaign, not to tell the public about a sexual encounter she maintains the two had a decade earlier.
Nonetheless, the court verdict cements Trump’s conviction while unchaining 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 trip— and ugly details aired in court of a plot to bury affair allegations — failed to hurt him with voters, who elected him to a second term last November.
Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan could have sentenced the 78-year-old Republican to up to four years in prison.
Rather, he chose a sentence that side-stepped thorny constitutional issues by effectively ending the case, assuring that Trump will become the first person convicted of a felony to assume the US presidency.
Merchan noted that despite the extraordinary circumstances, the trial itself carried the hallmarks of every other proceeding in the 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.
I’m totally innocent, I did no wrong, Trump insists
He argued that voters saw what happened in the courtroom and, like him, thought it was a disgrace and supported him overwhelmingly in the election.
“It’s been a political witch hunt. It was done to damage my reputation so that I would lose the election, and obviously, that didn’t work.
“This has been a very terrible experience. I think it has been a tremendous set back for New York and the New York court system,” he said.
Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass noted the the conviction and reviewed the sentencing options, saying they include up to four years in prison, but other remedies as well.
Steinglass said the prosecution recommends unconditional discharge based on circumstances including Trump’s impending return to the White House.
Steinglass said prosecutors are OK with the potential no-penalty sentence, citing “all the circumstances of this case, its unique posture and the defendant’s status as president-elect.”
“The verdict in this case was unanimous and decisive and it must be respected,” he added.
As prosecutors began their remarks, Trump shook his head, eyes darting around the screen.
