New York, Jan. 10, 2025 – The New York judge who presided over Donald Trump’s hush money case on Friday sentence the president-elect to an “unconditional discharge,” meaning he is now a convicted felon in the eyes of New York state law but will face no further penalties.
“This has been a very terrible experience,” a dour Trump said, speaking remotely from his Florida home when allowed to address the judge.
“It was done to damage my reputation so I would lose the election,” he said. “I am totally innocent. I did nothing wrong,” he maintained.
The sentencing came just 10 days before Trump is set to be sworn in as the country’s 47th president.
Trump’s attorneys had repeatedly sought to stay the proceeding, which state Judge Juan Merchan scheduled last week.
Their appeals to Merchan, two state appeal courts and even the country’s highest court over the past week were unsuccessful.
Trump’s last hope, the U.S. Supreme Court, declined to block the proceedings in a 5-4 ruling late Thursday.
Merchan told the court he still intends to appeal the verdict.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said in court that Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts punishable by one to four years in prison, but recommended the judge hand down as “a sentence of unconditional release” given the unique circumstances of the case.
“We must be respectful of the office of the presidency, and mindful of the fact that this defendant will be inaugurated as president in ten days,” Steinglass said, while also complaining that Trump has acted like he’s “above the law” throughout the case, including with his frequent verbal attacks on the judge, prosecutors and even their family members.
“This defendant has caused enduring damage to the public perception of the criminal justice system,” he said.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche countered that it was the Manhattan district attorney’s office that overstepped in the case. He said Steinglass’ position assumes “this case is legally appropriate, and the charges that were brought by the people were consistent with the laws of New York. Again we very much disagree with that.”
“This is a case that without a doubt was brought by a district attorney who promised he would go after President Trump if elected, and he had to go through with that promise,” Blanche said.
“It’s a very sad day. It’s a sad day for President Trump and his family and his friends, but it’s also, in counsel’s view, a sad day for this country,” Blanche said, adding that Trump planned to fully appeal the case after the sentence was entered.
The sentencing means Trump will make some ignominious history before he becomes only the second president to be sworn in for two nonconsecutive terms: He’ll be the only president to have been sentenced on criminal charges.
Trump, in remarks to the media from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Thursday after the Supreme Court ruling, alluded to the possibility of further appeals, such as an attempt to appeal the verdict itself.
“So I’ll do my little thing tomorrow. They can have fun with their political opponent,” he said.
Merchan, in a decision last week ordering the sentencing to proceed that he would most likely give Trump an unconditional discharge, a sentence that allows the conviction to stand with no further penalties.
He also, however, blasted Trump for both the conduct that led to his conviction in May and his behavior during and after the trial. (NBCNews.com)
