Trump sentenced in hush money case days before inauguration

The US president-elect, Donald Trump, has been sentenced to an “unconditional discharge” by a New York state court for his criminal conviction over hush money payments made to a porn film actress.

This makes Mr Trump the first American president to be sentenced for a crime.

This ruling, however, implies that Mr Trump, although found guilty, will not serve jail time or pay a fine.

Unconditional discharge is a legal term for cases in which a person is found guilty of an offence but is not punished further. There are no conditions attached, such as probation or community service.

It’s essentially a formal reprimand without consequences. As such, Mr Trump’s conviction will remain on his permanent record, but he will not face imprisonment, fines, or probation.

The judge, Juan Merchan, delivered the sentence against Mr Trump on Friday, a day after the US Supreme Court dismissed an attempt by Mr Trump’s legal team to postpone his sentencing ahead of the inauguration on 20 January.

He stated that it is the office of the presidency that is extraordinary, not the person holding the office.

“However, the considerable, indeed extraordinary, legal protections afforded the office of the chief executive is a factor that overrides all others. They do not reduce the seriousness of the crime or justify its commission in any way,” CNN quoted Mr Merchan to have said.

Trump found guilty in 2024

Mr Trump was found guilty in late May on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments made to the adult actress Stormy Daniels and other related matters.

The hush money payment was made in October 2016, just weeks before the US presidential election in which he defeated Hillary Clinton and emerged as president, serving from 2017 to 2021.

Mr Trump’s lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, had facilitated the payment of $130,000 to Ms Daniels.

He, however, pleaded not guilty to the crime and has denied that any sexual relationship took place.

The lawyers had asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to postpone the sentence “to prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the Presidency and the operations of the federal government.”

They argued that a Supreme Court ruling last year provides presidents with extensive immunity from criminal prosecution, implying that certain evidence should not have been introduced in the case.

Trump’s response

Speaking at the hearing, the president-elect, who attended virtually, said he is the victim of a political “witch hunt.”

He said the payments for which he was convicted were logged appropriately.

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“This has been a very terrible experience.”

“I’m totally innocent. I did nothing wrong. They called a legal expense a legal expense…and for this, I got indicted. It’s incredible, actually.

“I think it’s an embarrassment to New York. I was treated very very unfairly,” he said.

Mr Trump’s defence team has also vowed to appeal the sentencing, stating that the case should never have been filed.