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US President-elect Donald Trump appears remotely for a sentencing hearing in front of New York State Judge Juan Merchan with his attorney Todd Blanche (left) in Manhattan Criminal Court on January 10 2025 in New York City.
Curtis means | fake images
president-elect donald trump He was sentenced without penalty Friday in his criminal hush money case in New York, 10 days before he is sworn in for a second term in the White House.
Manhattan Judge Juan Merchán sentenced Trump to “unconditional freedom”, that is, without jail, without parole or fine.
“This has been a very terrible experience,” Trump, who attended the hearing remotely, said before being sentenced.
“This has been a political witch hunt,” he said, claiming the case was brought “to damage my reputation and lose the election.”
In May, a jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush payment that his then-personal attorney paid to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels was paid for her silence over claims that she once had sex with Trump a decade earlier, claims the president-elect has denied.
Merchan said unconditional freedom was the only legal sentence he could issue without encroaching on the presidency.
The protection of that office “is a factor that prevails over all others,” said Merchán.
“Donald Trump, the ordinary citizen, Donald Trump the criminal defendant, would not be entitled to such considerable protections,” he said.
The judge’s actions will formally make Trump the first convicted criminal to occupy the Oval Office.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass noted at the beginning of the hearing that each of the charges against Trump carries a sentence of up to four years in state prison.
But “the people recommend a sentence of unconditional freedom,” Steinglass said.
“We must be respectful of the office of presidency and aware of the fact that this defendant will assume the presidency in ten days,” he explained.
But the prosecutor also criticized Trump for his relentless attacks on the justice system throughout the case, saying the president-elect “caused lasting damage to the public perception of the criminal justice system.”
Trump, who appeared on the monitor wearing a red-striped tie and sitting in front of American flags, frowned and appeared bored during Steinglass’ remarks.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, responded that he disagreed with the prosecutor about the validity of the case and about Trump’s conduct.
“It’s a sad day for President Trump and his family and his friends, but it’s also … a sad day for this country,” said Blanche, whom Trump tapped to be deputy U.S. attorney general in the next administration.
Thursday’s hearing comes a day after Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, attended former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral in Washington. The Trumps sat with every other living former president.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday night lifted the final legal barrier to Trump’s sentencing, rejecting his request to block proceedings in the case.
The decision was close (5 to 4): Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump appointee, joined conservative Chief Justice John Roberts and three liberal justices in issuing the majority decision.
The ruling noted that Trump’s sentence would impose a “relatively insubstantial” burden on his presidential responsibilities and that he still has the right to appeal over allegations that Merchan improperly allowed certain evidence at trial.
Trump’s lawyers argue that he is immune from criminal prosecution, but courts have repeatedly rejected that claim when it comes to the hush money case because he was not yet president when the initial conduct in the case occurred.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
