Donald Trump was reportedly sentenced to no punishment on Friday for concealing hush money paid to a porn star, solidifying his status as a felon on the brink of his return to the White House. Trump was defiant throughout the proceedings.
The unique privileges of the presidency shielded Trump from more severe punishments, according to Justice Juan Merchan, who imposed the sentence during a half-hour hearing.
Trump sat with American flags behind him as he made a virtual appearance from his Mar-a-Lago home. He claimed to be innocent while he pursed his lips and gazed hard into his camera.
Trump became the first president to be punished for a crime and the first former president to be found guilty of one during the historic court hearing.
It happened in the same dull state courtroom in New York where his criminal trial lasted more than a month. Surrounded by multiple televisions featuring Trump and his other attorney, Todd Blanche, the judge, Manhattan prosecutors, and one of Trump’s attorneys sat in the courtroom.
Reporters made up the majority of the crowded gallery.
Joshua Steinglass, the prosecutor, stated that the impending inauguration was the reason he approved of the sentencing. However, he stated that Trump was acting with no remorse and was actively attacking and retaliating against the judge and prosecutors.
The hush-money lawsuit was not legally suitable, according to Trump’s attorney Blanche, who also pointed out that the trial was held during a presidential election.
In 2023, Trump faced 34 felony charges of manipulating company records to conceal hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress.
Trump disputed the sexual contact she claimed to have had with him.
Prosecutors claimed during a trial last spring that Trump, who was then a contender, planned to sway the 2016 election by purchasing unfavorable reports about him that would harm his campaign.
Trump’s attorneys stated that trying to influence voters was legitimate and disputed that he had done anything unlawful.
Trump blasted the judge and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat who initiated the case, in the courtroom, accusing them of trying to harm him politically.
Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts by the jury. Although Merchan had the option of receiving a prison sentence, there was no mandatory prison time associated with the conviction.
Merchan’s unexpected decision last week mandated that Trump show up for sentence before to his inauguration on January 20.
The decision sparked a week of last-minute legal wrangling by Trump’s team, who requested that the U.S. Supreme Court, the state’s highest court, and an intermediate New York appeals court halt the case.
In a 5-4 ruling Thursday night, the Supreme Court refused to postpone the sentencing, stating that Trump had an insignificant burden and that his objections to the evidence presented during the trial could be resolved on appeal.
[READ MORE: Judge Merchan Sentences Trump to ‘Unconditional Discharge’ in Hush Money Case]
