A Manhattan judge sentenced Donald Trump to no penalty on Friday, January 10 on his conviction for concealing a “hush money” payoff that hid a sex scandal from voters making the president-elect the first person convicted of a felony to assume the White House.
Justice Juan Merchan who oversaw a trial in which jurors heard evidence that Trump paid off porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal to keep them quiet about alleged sexual meet ups sentenced Trump to an “unconditional discharge.”
“Sir, I wish you Godspeed as you assume a second term in office,” Merchan said.
The decision means the president-elect will not face any jail time, probation, or fines.
The sentencing which Trump, 78, attended remotely on video appearing on screen from Florida in front of two American flags, means the soon-to-be 47th commander-in-chief will have the historic distinction of being the only US president ever to be convicted of felony criminal charges.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is now the first prosecutor to put an American president on trial.
Ahead of the sentencing, Trump blasted the case as an “injustice” and reiterated his claims it was all a “witch hunt.”
“This is a case that should have never been brought, it’s an injustice, of justice,” he railed
“The fact is, I’m totally innocent, I did nothing wrong.”
He then ripped the trial as an “embarrassment to New York.”
“I got indicted after calling a legal expense a legal expense. I want to say it’s an embarrassment to New York,” Trump seethed.
“I would just like to explain that I was treated very unfairly, and I thank you very much.”
Meanwhile, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass insisted that the verdict in this case was “unanimous and decisive” and that it “must be respected.”
He then blasted the future president using “dangerous rhetoric” throughout the trial, referencing Trump’s threats on the judge and prosecutors.
“Such threats are designed to have a chilling effect, to intimate folks, who have a responsibility to enforce our laws…. Because they fear he is simply too powerful to be held to the same rule of law as the rest of us,” Steinglass said.
“Put simply, this defendant has caused enduring damage to public perception of the justice system and has placed officers of the court in harm’s way.”
Bragg’s star witness was Michael Cohen, a disbarred attorney and convicted perjurer who spent more than a decade as Trump’s personal lawyer.
Jurors saw evidence that Trump worked with Cohen and the National Enquirer magazine to buy up the rights to and bury damaging information about him, like Daniels’ tale about a brief sexual encounter and McDougal’s account of having a months-long affair with Trump.
“What do we got to pay for this? One-fifty?” Trump told Cohen in a secretly made recording, appearing to reference a $150,000 payoff to McDougal.
The prosecution centered on evidence that then-President Trump in 2017 lied on his company’s records to cover up Cohen’s $130,000 payoff that temporarily silenced Daniels from speaking about having sex with Trump in 2006.
The payoff came on the eve of the 2016 presidential election, Cohen told jurors.
‘Absolutely. Do it. Take care of it.’’ Cohen testified.
Cohen also admitted to serially lying on Trump’s behalf and brazenly stealing $60,000 from his former boss — but insisted that he let Trump know in advance about paying off Daniels because “I wanted the money back.”
Falsifying business records is a misdemeanor but doing it to cover up another crime is a felony.
