President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced to be released with no restrictions Friday after his criminal conviction in the “hush money” case in New York.
Though he’ll receive no punishment under the unconditional discharge sentence, Trump and his attorney pledged to appeal his conviction as he prepares to take office in 10 days as the 47th president of the United States. Speaking virtually from his residence in Florida, Trump continued to insist during the hearing that he’s “totally innocent.”
“It’s been a political witch hunt,” Trump said on camera. It was done to damage my reputation so that I’d lose the election, and obviously, that didn’t work.”
Prosecutors had also recommended a sentence of unconditional discharge, given Trump’s impending inauguration, but not before blasting Trump’s behavior and the precedent it sets.
“Put simply, this defendant has caused enduring damage to public perception of the criminal justice system, and has placed officers of the court in harm’s way,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said.
Listen to the Trump sentencing hearing audio
Although cameras were not allowed in the courtroom to provide video of the hearing, after its conclusion the court released the audio, which can be heard in the player above.
What was Trump sentenced for?
The case stemmed from a $130,000 “hush money” payment Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the days before the 2016 election. Prosecutors claimed the payment was made to keep voters unaware of Daniels’ allegation that she had sex with Trump years earlier, a claim Trump still denies.
Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsification of business records in the first degree, a felony in New York, and a jury convicted him on all 34 counts.
What is an unconditional discharge?
An unconditional discharge, the sentence Merchan imposed on Trump, allows release without any formal punishment or ability to impose punishment at a further date.
That means no prison time, no community service volunteer time and no fines for his conviction. The maximum sentence, which a first offender would have been unlikely to receive, was four years in prison and several thousand dollars in fines for each of the 34 counts.
“This court has determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of a judgment of conviction without encroaching on the highest office in the land, is an unconditional discharge,” Merchan told Trump, wishing him “Godspeed” on his second term.
The sentence is a highly unusual one, which Merchan suggested he had imposed because of legal protections afforded to the office of the president of the United States.
Stefan Becket
contributed to this report.
