Key Points
- Trump will not face prison
- First US president ever sentenced for a crime
- Trump made a plea for a suspension of criminal proceedings
- Trump is due to be sworn in for a second term on January 20
NEW YORK: A US court on Friday sentenced President-elect Donald Trump to an unconditional discharge for covering up hush money payments to an adult actress despite his last-ditch efforts to avoid becoming the first felon in the White House.
Judge Juan Merchan delivered the verdict on Friday, a day after the US Supreme Court rejected an attempt by Trump’s legal team to delay sentencing before his inauguration on January 20.
Though the judge has indicated Trump, however, he will not face prison. He has received the mildest criminal sanction: an unconditional discharge, a relatively rare measure.
“Never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances,” said Merchan.
“The only lawful sentence that permits entry of a judgment of conviction without encroaching on the highest office of the land is an unconditional discharge.” Trump attended the fully-packed court room virtually.
“This has been a very terrible experience. I think it’s been a tremendous setback for New York and the New York court system,” Trump said before the discharge was passed.
“It was done to damage my reputation, so I would lose the election.”
Hush money payments
During the trial, Trump was forced to listen to multiple witnesses testified that he had fraudulently concealed illicit payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels to prevent her from revealing their alleged affair ahead of the 2016 presidential election, which he later won.
Daniels provided uncomfortable testimony, recounting details of her alleged encounter with Trump —claims he has consistently denied—as well as his flirtatious behaviour and interest in the adult film industry. The judge intervened to curtail further explicit testimony.
Trump has repeatedly called the prosecution a “witch hunt”.
Supreme Court
Trump made a last-minute appeal to the nation’s highest court to suspend the criminal proceedings after a New York State appeals court rejected his bid to delay the hearing, and the state’s top court declined to intervene.
However, the Supreme Court ruled that sentencing could proceed as scheduled.
Prosecutors opposed the attempt to postpone sentencing, just 10 days before Trump is set to be sworn in for a second term. They argued it was improper for the Supreme Court to hear the case while Trump still had a legal way to appeal within New York’s judicial system.
“This Court lacks jurisdiction over a state court’s management of an ongoing criminal trial when the defendant has not exhausted his state-law remedies,” the prosecution told the Supreme Court Thursday.
First Presidential Conviction
An unconditional discharge is a legal measure with no sanctions or restrictions, yet it still upholds the jury’s guilty verdict, ensuring Trump’s legacy as the first former president to be convicted of a felony.
At 78 years old, Trump had faced a potential sentence of up to four years in prison.
Outside the courthouse, Trump’s supporters displayed a large banner featuring his name, which was whipped by strong winds. Meanwhile, a small group of anti-Trump protesters gathered behind a sign that read, “Trump is guilty.”
