Found Guilty On 34 Counts, President Trump Receives An Unconditional Discharge
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US President Donald Trump received an “unconditional discharge” for his criminal trial on Jan. 10, making him the first convicted felon to serve as president. This sentence spares Trump of any legal retribution, aside from a mark on his criminal record.
Trump’s sentence stems from a decision in May 2024 by a New York jury that found the president guilty of 34 felony counts of fabricating business records. During the 2016 election, these records were corrupted to conceal a hush-money payment to an adult film star, Stormy Daniels.
According to CBC, Daniels promised to expose an alleged sexual encounter in 2006 between her and Trump during his first presidential campaign. His attorney at the time, Micheal Cohen, arranged to pay $130,000 to Daniels with the intent of keeping her silent. Cohen explained to jurors last spring that the president was behind the plot to corrupt records and conceal the arrangement. As Trump reimbursed Cohen in multiple installments, he began to incorrectly record the payments as legal expenses. As reported by the BBC, “each of Trump's guilty verdicts correlates to a false document related to the cover-up.”
Trump’s sentence on this issue had experienced multiple delays due to both the events of the presidential election and rulings from the Supreme Court. In September 2024, Judge Merchan postponed the sentencing to ensure that the court’s decision would be upheld as politically unbiased.
Shortly before the hearing, Trump’s lawyers filed a request with the US Supreme Court to stop the sentencing. The filing argued that Trump was sanctioned full immunity based on a milestone Supreme Court ruling that awarded former presidents “substantial immunity from prosecution,” when utilizing their fundamental constitutional powers, according to NPR.
However, the attempt was dismissed by the Supreme Court, and the hearing carried on as planned.
The president attended his hearing virtually, appearing on a TV screen in the courtroom with his attorney present.
Early in the sentencing, prosecutor Josh Steinglass recommended that the president’s sentence be an unconditional discharge. He called out Trump for his conduct regarding the trial, stating that Trump has “bred disdain for our judicial institutions and the rule of law.”
Both Trump and his attorney, Todd Blanche, expressed that the case “legally should not have been brought.” Trump also made claims that the accountants on his team classified the payment to Stormy Daniels as a legal expense, but he correctly categorized his reimbursements to Cohen as legal expenses.
Before delivering the sentence, Judge Merchan highlighted the unusual circumstances of the trial, due to the rule of presidential immunity. He highlighted that “the protections afforded to the office of the president are not a mitigating factor,” and expanded that these factors do not reduce the gravity of the crime, or justify its execution.
The hearing concluded with Judge Merchan delivering the unconditional discharge, and wishing Trump “godspeed as [he] assumes [his] second term in office.”