Donald Trump’s The criminal case sputtered out Friday morning when a New York City judge sentenced him to no prison time and dismissed the case. The new president has been convicted 34 times of covering up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, but has never been punished, but the sentencing formalizes his status as a felon, making him the first U.S. president to do so. Trump did not have to appear in court for sentencing, but Mar-a-Lago appeared in a video sitting next to his lawyer.
“This defendant… It put court staff at risk.”
During a brief hearing, prosecutors agreed to a plan that would keep Trump out of jail but argued that he should be classified as a felon. Manhattan District Attorney Joshua Steinglass told Judge Juan Mercan that in a probation report prepared for sentencing, Trump was portrayed as placing himself above the law and refusing to take responsibility for his actions.
Steinglass argued that Trump, who appeared or pretended to be asleep throughout the trial and used social media to spew vitriol toward prosecutors, witnesses, Merchant and his family, should not be allowed to deviate from his convictions. Without officially admitting his wrongdoing
“This defendant has caused lasting damage to the public perception of the criminal justice system and has put court officers at risk,” Steinglass said.
“This has been a very terrible experience,” Trump told Merchan, adding that he thought it was “a tremendous setback for the state of New York.” At one point, he complains about his former fixer Michael Cohen, who testified against him in the case, and Cohen talks like George Washington. “But he’s not George Washington.”
In addition to once again denying he did anything and other brief remarks pointing to election results in swing states, Trump reportedly spent most of Friday’s hearing looking preoccupied with something in front of him, possibly a phone. —Or perhaps you grimace and shake your head at negative explanations of your behavior.
President Trump and his lawyers have appealed to the Supreme Court, seeking to delay or dismiss the case and sentencing, citing the high court’s July decision that unprecedentedly extended the president’s immunity from criminal prosecution. The Supreme Court on Thursday denied his bid for Friday’s sentencing.
Speaking from the bench, Merchant reminded Trump that presidential immunity, which he tried and failed to avoid conviction, applies to the office of the president, not the individual who occupies it. As Merchan put it, it failed to protect “Donald Trump the ordinary citizen, Donald Trump the criminal defendant.”
An unconditional release sentence means the case is over and Trump will not be punished, and unlike conditional release, he does not have to meet any conditions, such as maintaining a job, passing a drug test, or making restitution, to avoid further consequences.
During the trial, Trump was fined $9,000 for contempt.
