President-elect Donald Trump was formally sentenced Friday in his hush money case, but the judge declined to impose any punishment. The outcome cements Trump’s conviction while freeing him to return to the White House unencumbered by the threat of a jail term or a fine.
What to know:
- What is unconditional discharge? Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan could have sentenced the 78-year-old to up to four years in prison. Instead, he chose a sentence that sidestepped thorny constitutional issues by effectively ending the case but assured that Trump will become the first person convicted of a felony to assume the presidency.
- What did Trump say during the hearing? Trump said his criminal trial and conviction has “been a very terrible experience” and insisted he committed no crime.
- A refresher on the case: The hush money case accused Trump of fudging his business’ records to veil a $130,000 payoff to porn actor Stormy Daniels. She was paid, late in Trump’s 2016 campaign, not to tell the public about a sexual encounter she maintains the two had a decade earlier.
But unless the conviction for falsifying business records is someday overturned, Trump will have felonies on his criminal record, which will affect some of his rights.
Trump is registered to vote in Florida and he’ll be able to vote there. Florida does bar people convicted of felonies from voting, but restores their right to vote after they’ve completed their sentences.
Under federal law, people convicted of felonies aren’t allowed to possess firearms.
By law, every person convicted of a felony in New York must provide a DNA sample for the state’s crime databank. Samples are collected after sentencing, typically when a defendant reports to probation, jail or prison. Samples can also be taken by a court or police official.
▶ Read more about the effects of being convicted
It was a case that for the first time put a former president and major presidential candidate in a courtroom as a criminal defendant. The case was the only one of four criminal indictments that has gone to trial and possibly the only one that ever will.
“Today’s event was a despicable charade, and now that it is over, we will appeal this Hoax, which has no merit, and restore the trust of Americans in our once great System of Justice,” he wrote in a lengthy post on his social media platform after the sentencing.
As Judge Merchan delivered the sentence, Trump sat upright, lips pursed, frowning slightly. He tilted his head to the side as the judge wished him “godspeed in your second term in office.”
