President-elect Donald Trump is scheduled to be sentenced for his crimes after appearing virtually in court Friday from his Mar-a-Lago home. New York’s ‘silencing’ incidentIt’s a moment unlike any other in American history.
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In the courtroom, two American flags were visible behind the defense table and the prosecution table, where Trump and attorney Todd Blanche sat side by side in a room with dark wooden walls.
“The people recommend unconditional release,” Manhattan District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said in court Friday. merchant He said in his Jan. 3 ruling that he intends to give Trump an unconditional dismissal that would not include a prison sentence or other restrictions that could hinder him after his Jan. 20 inauguration. He said Trump characterized the court proceedings. He categorized them as corruption, manipulation, witch-hunting and fraud, and pointed out that this court alone found Trump in contempt for 10 distinct violations.
Stainglass said the defendants’ actions “constitute a direct attack on the rule of law itself.” And he pointed out that Trump has publicly vowed to retaliate against prosecutors who try to hold him accountable on this and other matters.
Blanche said she strongly disagrees with the government’s statement about the incident and President Trump’s actions.
President Trump also said during the hearing that the trial was a “very harrowing experience and a huge setback for New York and the New York court system.”
Trump and his lawyers have fought Manhattan prosecutors at every turn since the “silencing” investigation began in 2018. They challenged the prosecution’s subpoena and Supreme Court Justice Juan Mercan’s ruling, and fought several times all the way to the Supreme Court. Work this week to prevent Friday’s hearing.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court said: will not intervene It cleared the way for Merchan to make his own decisions on Trump’s behalf. President Trump said shortly after the high court’s ruling that he had read the ruling and “actually thought it was a fair decision,” adding that the justices could appeal and that he “really… “There will be no punishment,” he pointed out.
“But we will appeal anyway,” he added in his remarks Thursday night. “So I’m going to do my little thing tomorrow so they can have some fun with their political opponents,” Trump said.
There are no cameras in the courtroom, but audio recordings of the proceedings will be released after the hearing.
Although Trump’s trial and indictment drew crowds and lines overnight, lines from the general public were sparse Friday morning and no spectators were seen before dawn at the park across the street.
Trump was found guilty in May after a seven-week trial. A unanimous jury concluded that he “committed 34 felonies in 2017 while approving a scheme to falsify records to conceal restitution.”hush money“Payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Daniels testified at trial, as did Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and a “fixer” who received forged reimbursements for wire transfers sent to Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about a sexual encounter with Trump several years ago.
Multiple witnesses testified that Trump was glad voters didn’t know Daniels’ story before the 2016 election.
Merchan held Trump in contempt 10 times during the trial for allegedly violating a gag order prohibiting him from speaking publicly to witnesses, court officials and others. In issuing the 10th count of contempt, Merchan, who frequently acknowledged the unique circumstances of the trial and its high-profile and powerful defendants, teased Friday’s likely sentencing.
“The last thing I want to do is put you in jail,” Merchan said.
