Donald Trump became the first felon in the White House Friday , after a US court upheld his hush money conviction. He has been given a ‘unconditional discharge’ for concealing unexplained payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
This means that the President-elect has been found guilty of his charges but will not face any jail time or penalty because he has been elected President of the United States and will take the oath to the country’s highest office on January 20 – a position that grants him immunity from the law while in office and beyond.Donald Trump is the first US president to be sentenced as a felon, yet he avoids jail and a penalty.
As a result, despite the fact that the 34 charges of Donald Trump falsifying business documents on which he was convicted in May 2024 carried the possibility of jail time, the judge was unable to do much more than spare the President-elect. If Donald Trump had not been president, he would have served a four-year prison sentence. Instead, he will return to the White House as President for another four years.
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Donald Trump chose to attend the court hearing remotely rather than in person, knowing full well that he would not be sentenced to jail.
“This court decided that the only acceptable sentence that allows the entry of a judgement of conviction without encroaching on the highest office of the land is an unconditional discharge,” said New York judge Juan Merchan, who delivered the sentencing.
“Never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances,” the judge continued. The judge had no choice but to grant the former president a “unconditional discharge” because the constitution protected the nation’s highest position. Any other ruling ran the risk of infringing on the nation’s highest official’s immunity.
Even before the sentencing, Donald Trump used all of his power and resources in a last-ditch effort to escape being the first felon ever to occupy the White House.
Donald Trump stated hours before the sentencing
Donald Trump stated hours before the sentencing that he believes the entire judicial action was a “setback for the New York court system”. “It was done to damage my reputation, just so that I could lose the election,” he stated, adding that it was a “terrible experience” for him.
Throughout the proceedings, however, Donald Trump was forced to sit and hear witness after witness testify against him about how he fraudulently covered up illicit payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in order to prevent her from disclosing their tryst ahead of the 2016 presidential election, which he eventually won.
Donald Trump made every effort to stop the punishment
Donald Trump had attempted everything he could to stop the criminal proceedings against him, but he suffered a major blow when the US Supreme Court determined that his sentencing could proceed.
Friday’s sentencing occurs just ten days before Donald Trump returns to the White House for his second term as President of the United States.
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