Donald Trump, now the first U.S. President to enter office with a criminal record, participated in the sentencing via video link from Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
US President-elect Donald Trump received an unconditional discharge on Friday in the hush money case, just 10 days before assuming the presidency. The ruling by Judge Juan Merchan spared Trump any prison time or penalties, despite confirming his conviction, following the Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene.
Trump, now the first U.S. President to enter office with a criminal record, participated in the sentencing via video link from Mar-a-Lago, Florida. He described the case as “a great embarrassment to the state of New York” and asserted his innocence, attributing his election victory to voters who “saw firsthand what transpired.”
The charges stemmed from payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 to secure her silence about an alleged sexual encounter, which Trump denies. Prosecutor Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, argued that Trump’s reimbursement to Cohen, recorded as legal expenses, constituted business fraud.
Bragg amplified the case by treating each check and ledger entry as separate criminal offenses, resulting in 34 charges. A jury convicted Trump, but Judge Merchan noted that sentencing reflected his impending role as President.
Despite the conviction, Trump emerged politically unscathed, with 1.77 million voters propelling him to victory. Vice President Kamala Harris, who leveraged the case in her campaign, faced voter repudiation alongside Bragg.
Trump’s historic entry into the White House underscores the polarizing nature of the case and its limited impact on his political ascent.
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