NEW YORK: A New York court judge decided on Friday that US President-elect Donald Trump will not be imprisoned or fined for his criminal conviction related to a hush-money case, freeing Trump to return to the White House unencumbered without any threat.
Justice Juan Merchan ended the cases, sentencing Trump, 78, to an unconditional discharge, closing the case with no punishment.
But unless the conviction for falsifying business records is someday overturned, Trump will have felonies on his criminal record, which will affect some of his rights
Merchan would permanently record a guilty verdict against Trump by issuing an unconditional discharge, which would come with no additional legal consequences like probation, fines, or jail time.
Donald Trump can now seek the appeal, which might take years and take place during his four-year term as president, now that he has been sentenced.
The first-ever criminal prosecution against a US president, past or present, comes to a close with the sentencing.
Being convicted of a crime, Trump will be the first president to hold the position.
In March 2023, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, accused Trump, a Republican, of 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal the $130,000 payment made to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress, by his former attorney Michael Cohen for her silence before the 2016 election regarding an alleged sexual encounter she claimed to have had with Trump. Daniels denied the encounter.
The Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of all 34 counts on May 30, which Trump’s counsel argued that the case was an attempt to corrupt the 2016 election.
In May, Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records connected to a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. The payment was made to silence her over an alleged affair. Trump denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty, claiming the case was aimed at damaging his 2024 campaign.
