Trump avoids prison or fine by sentencing his unconditional freedom

A judge sentenced US President-elect Donald Trump to “unconditional release”, ending the first criminal trial against a former US president.

The ruling in the cash case means the incoming president has been spared any punishment, including jail time or a fine, but will still take office as the first U.S. president with a felony conviction.

“Never before has such a unique and notable set of circumstances been presented to this court,” Judge Juan Merchán said shortly before announcing the sentence, calling it “a truly extraordinary case.”

Appearing by video call from Florida and flanked by his lawyer and two prominent American flags, Trump declared he was “totally innocent.”

It was the first time in this year-and-a-half legal saga that Trump uttered anything more than a “not guilty” or gave a brief affirmative answer.

When given the opportunity to speak before his sentencing, Trump criticized the case for several minutes.

“This has been a very terrible experience,” he said.

He claimed that there had been a “militarization” of the justice system and claimed that the case was brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for political reasons.

“I would like to explain that I was treated very, very unfairly and I thank you very much,” he said, before falling silent.

As Bragg watched Trump address him directly for the first time, he maintained a mostly stoic expression. However, he chuckled when Trump claimed that Bragg had never wanted to bring the case.

After Trump expressed his opinion, Judge Merchan took several moments to reflect on the “paradox” of the trial.

Judge Merchan noted that despite the political and media circus outside, “once the courtroom doors were closed, it was no more unique than all the other cases that took place at the same time.”

But he added that after Trump was convicted, the case took another turn when the American people elected him in November to a second presidential term.

After careful consideration, he had determined that “the only legal sentence, without encroaching on the highest office in the land,” was unconditional release, a sentence that would allow the American people a president free of pending judicial proceedings.

Trump was convicted by a New York jury of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in May 2024. His sentencing was delayed several times due to Supreme Court rulings and the November presidential election.

The charges arose from a plot to cover up a money payment to an adult film star in the final days of the 2016 election. Prosecutors argued that the payment was a form of election interference intended to hide vital information from voters and , therefore, violated the law.

In October 2016, Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen paid a woman called Stormy Daniels $130,000 (£106,000) to keep quiet about an alleged years-old sexual encounter with the future president.

After being elected, Trump reimbursed Cohen in fees and then falsely recorded them as legal expenses. Each of Trump’s guilty verdicts correlates with a false document related to the cover-up.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied the sexual encounter with Ms. Daniels. He repeatedly claimed that the case was a politically motivated persecution.

The six-week trial became a legal, political and media storm. More senior figures like Cohen and Daniels took the stand to face questioning from Trump’s lawyers.

Trump brought a host of family members and Republican allies with him to court each day to fill the benches behind his defense table. Each day, he turned a small pen in the hallway outside the courtroom into his personal pulpit, seizing opportunities to criticize the justice system, the press and other adversaries.

Trump also took advantage of the furor of the trial to raise millions from his followers for his legal battles and his campaign to retake the White House.

In the four years between his terms, Trump was charged in four separate criminal cases, including the New York case. In the end, this was the only one that went to trial.

On the campaign trail and on social media, Trump used his legal quagmires to portray himself (and his supporters) as victims of a rigged justice system.

Despite multiple accusations, including two focused on his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, Trump decisively defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in November.

His victory overturned two federal indictments against him, including his federal election interference case and one involving alleged mishandling of classified documents. The third, an election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, has been stuck for months in a series of delays and parallel dramas.

Only Trump’s secret trial came to an end, after Judge Merchan balked in early January and demanded that Trump appear virtually or in person for his sentencing.

However, the battles did not end there. Trump’s lawyers frantically filed appeals and even asked the US Supreme Court to suspend Friday’s hearing.

The Supreme Court rejected it in a brief order issued Thursday night.

They also fought to have the case dismissed, arguing that elected presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution, an argument that Judge Merchan rejected but that they have continued to argue before higher courts.

When Trump’s trial in New York was postponed with a final blow of the gavel on Friday, it also ended this particularly fraught chapter in his personal and political history.

When he takes the oath of office in 10 days, he will do so as the first U.S. president convicted of a felony.

Concluding his sentencing on Friday, Judge Merchan had one last message for Trump.

“I wish him good luck as he assumes his second term,” he said.