New York Judge Juan Merchan ruled Friday that President-elect Donald Trump will not face any punishment after being convicted of 34 felonies related to a hush-money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
Merchan gave Trump an unconditional discharge, meaning he declined to sentence Trump to jail time or probation in light of the president-elect’s imminent return to the White House. The sentencing puts an end to an unprecedented case that Trump and his allies have cast as political persecution.
Addressing the court by video before receiving his sentence, Trump called the trial “a very terrible experience” and again insisted on his innocence.
Trump’s sentencing follows the once-and-future president’s failed attempt to have the Supreme Court postpone the proceedings. Conservative Justices John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump appointee, sided with the liberals on the court and denied Trump’s attempt to halt the sentencing. If Trump had not been sentenced Friday, it likely would have been delayed until 2029, when his presidency concludes.
Trump was convicted in May following a criminal trial that featured testimony from witnesses such as Daniels, disgraced former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, and National Enquirer publisher David Pecker. He was the first former president to be indicted and convicted. When he’s sworn in on January 20, Trump will become the first convicted felon to hold the nation’s highest office.
“However the considerable, indeed extraordinary, legal protections afforded the office of the chief executive is a factor that overrides all others,” Merchan said.
“Ordinary citizens do not receive those legal protections. It is the office of the president that bestows those to the office holder. It is the citizenry of this nation that recently decided that you should once again receive the benefits of those protections,” he added.
Merchan wished Trump luck in his final statement to the president-elect and said an unconditional discharge was the only sentence that would not encroach upon the presidency. Trump’s attorneys said they still plan on appealing the verdict.
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg (D) prosecuted Trump for falsifying business records in connection with reimbursements he sent to Cohen after the fixer paid Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter they had in 2006. Trump has consistently denied Daniels’s claims about the encounter.
“Your honor indicated an inclination to impose an unconditional discharge under all the circumstances of this case, this unique posture and the defendant’s status as president elect, the people recommend a sentence of unconditional discharge,” said prosecutor Joshua Steinglass.
Steinglass lambasted Trump’s post-verdict conduct surrounding the case and emphasized the need to respect the office of the presidency.
Bragg, who normally takes a soft-on-crime approach, used a novel legal theory to elevate the business-records charges against Trump to felonies and bypass the statute of limitations. He previously ran on prosecuting Trump during his campaign for district attorney.
Trump frequently criticized Bragg and Merchan for rigging the outcome of the case against him and holding political biases. Merchan previously donated to President Joe Biden’s campaign and his daughter is a Democratic political operative.
The hush money case was one of four criminal cases Trump overcame to win another term in resounding fashion this past November. After his victory, the other three cases were rendered moot before going to trial.
Special counsel Jack Smith prosecuted Trump on classified documents charges in Florida and election interference charges in Washington, D.C., related to the January 6 Capitol riot. Judge Aileen Cannon threw out Smith’s case in Florida, and Trump’s immunity challenge to the Supreme Court greatly delayed the D.C. proceedings. The Supreme Court ruled in July that presidents have absolute immunity for “official” acts during their time in office.
Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis (D) prosecuted Trump for racketeering in Georgia for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results. An appeals court tossed Willis from the Trump case last month over her romantic relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade.