The judge sentenced the President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, to “unconditional release,” ending the first trial of the former American president.
The sentence in the Bush bribery case means that the next president has never been punished, including jail time or fines, but he will still take office as the first US president to be convicted of a crime.
“Never before has this court been presented with such unique and extraordinary circumstances,” said Judge Juan Merchan shortly before handing down the sentence, which he called “a truly extraordinary case”.
Appearing in a video call from Florida flanked by his lawyer and two prominent American flags, Trump declared his “absolute innocence”.
It was the first time in a year and a half that Trump said more than “not guilty” or gave a brief affirmative answer.
Given a chance to speak before his sentencing, Trump criticized the case for several minutes.
“This has been a terrible thing,” he said.
He said there were “weapons” of the justice system and said the case was filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for political reasons.
“I would like to explain that I was treated unfairly, and I am very grateful,” he said before becoming silent.
As Bragg watched Trump speak directly to him for the first time, he kept a stoic expression. However, he laughed when Trump said that Bragg had never wanted to bring the case.
After Trump had his say, Justice Merchan then took a moment to reflect on the “conundrum” of the case.
Justice Merchan noted that despite the media and the political circus outside, “when the doors of the court were closed, it was no different from all the other cases happening at the same time”.
But he added that after Trump’s conviction, the case took another turn when the American people elected him in November to take a second term as president.
After careful consideration, he decided that “the only legitimate sentence, short of entering the highest office of the land”, was an unconditional release – a sentence that would allow the American people to become president without interference from pending courts.
Trump was found guilty by a New York jury of 34 counts of falsifying business records in May 2024. His sentencing was delayed several times due to Supreme Court decisions and the November presidential election.
The charges stem from a scheme to freeze the pay of an elderly movie star in the days of the 2016 election. Prosecutors argued that the payment was a form of election interference intended to withhold important information from voters, and therefore violated the law.
In October 2016, Trump’s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid a woman named Stormy Daniels $130,000 (£106,000) to keep quiet about allegations of a sexual encounter with the soon-to-be president.
After his election, Trump reimbursed Cohen for the installments — then falsely recorded them as legal expenses. Each of Trump’s guilty pleas is related to a false document related to the cover-up.
Trump has denied the charges and denied having sex with Ms Daniels. He also said that the case was a politically motivated prosecution.
The six-week trial was a legal, political and media firestorm. The biggest characters like Cohen and Daniels decided to face questions from Trump’s lawyers.
Trump brings a line of family members and Republican allies with him every day to fill the benches behind his defense table. Each day, he would turn a small press pen from the corridor outside the courtroom to his personal pulpit, using opportunities to criticize the justice system, the media, and other enemies.
Trump has also used the anger of the case to raise millions in supporters for his legal battles, and his campaign to take back the White House.
In the four years between his terms in office, Trump has been impeached in four separate cases, including his New York case. In the end, he was the only one who went to court.
On the campaign trail and on social media, Trump used his legal rhetoric to portray himself — and his supporters — as victims of a corrupt justice system.
Despite numerous lawsuits, including two that focused on his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in November.
His victory dropped two of his prosecutions, including one for election meddling and one involving alleged mishandling of classified documents. The third, an election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, has been mired in a series of delays and side dramas for months.
Trump’s only money trial has ever come to an end, after Justice Merchan took to his heels in early January and demanded that Trump appear in person for sentencing.
However, the battles did not end there. Trump’s lawyers filed appeals in a rush and even asked the US Supreme Court to stop the proceedings on Friday.
The Supreme Court overruled him in a brief order issued on Thursday night.
They also fought for the case to be dismissed saying that elected presidents are protected from criminal prosecution, an argument that was rejected by Justice Merchan but they continued to argue with the higher courts.
When Trump’s New York impeachment trial adjourned with a final buzzer on Friday, it also brought to a close the most fraught chapter in his personal and political history.
When he is sworn in 10 days from now, he will do so as the first US president ever to be convicted of a crime.
While concluding his sentence on Friday, Justice Merchan had a final message for Trump.
“I wish you Godspeed as you take a second term in office,” he said.
Source link
