President-elect Donald Trump has been sentenced in the “hush money” case in which he was convicted for falsifying business records.
After a highly contentious trial the saga has come to an end – for now.
Judge Juan Merchan sentenced him to an unconditional discharge, which means the president-elect will have a conviction on his record, but he will not face jail time or any other punishment.
Merchan told the court that unconditional discharge is “the only lawful sentence, without encroaching upon the highest office in the land.”
He then told the president-elect, “I wish you godspeed as you assume your second term in office.”
The proceedings lasted about 45 minutes as the prosecution and defense gave statements to the court. Merchan repeatedly referred to the president-elect as “Mr. Trump” instead of “President Trump,” which only supports claims that he was biased against the Trump throughout the trial.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass addressed the court first, noting that “The people recommend a sentence of an unconditional discharge.”
He then launched into a tirade of allegations against the president-elect, saying he launched a “coordinated campaign to undermine” the legitimacy of the proceedings” and “purposely bred disdain for our judicial institutions and the rule of law.”
Steinglass castigated the president-elect for breaking the gag order the court imposed on him to stop him from making statements about witnesses and court staff.
Trump, who appeared by video, remained expressionless throughout the proceedings.
Todd Blanche, Trump’s lawyer, said he “very much disagree[s]” with the prosecutors statements and contended that the charges should never have been brought against his client. “There’s many, many legal experts that share the same views that I just said - which is that legally this case should not have been brought,” he said, also explaining that they plan to appeal the verdict.
Blanche continued, arguing that “It’s a sad day for President Trump and his family and friends” and a “sad day for this country.”
President-elect Trump was also given an opportunity to speak. He spoke for about five minutes, criticizing the entire trial and pointing out that the charges were a politically motivated effort to influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. He referred to the indictment as a “witch hunt” and touted his victories in swing states.
The president-elect said it “has been a very terrible experience” that was done “to damage my reputation so I would lose the election and obviously that didn’t work.”
Trump also criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who was in the courtroom watching the proceedings. He said Bragg did not even want to bring the case against him to court, a statement at which Bragg chuckled.
The president-elect insisted that he was indicted “over calling a legal expense a legal expense” and that the whole trial was “an embarrassment to New York.”
This outcome means that even though Trump will not face punishment, the Democrats’ “convicted felon” label they applied to the president-elect throughout the campaign is now solidified. They will likely continue using this label as a political attack against Trump, as attorney Jonathan Turley pointed out days before the sentencing hearing.
Judge Merchan just set Trump for a sentencing shortly before his inauguration. As some of us predicted, he is indicating that he will impose an unconditional discharge without jail or probation...
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) January 3, 2025
The jury convicted Trump in May 2024 on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to payments made to his lawyer Michael Cohen to pay off adult film actress Stormy Daniels to convince her to stay silent about an alleged affair they had years before the 2016 election. The case has been criticized as a politically motivated effort to prevent Trump from winning the presidential election.