This makes him the first former US president ever sentenced for a crime. Justice Juan Merchan delivered the decision on Friday, a day after the US Supreme Court rejected an attempt by Trump’s legal team to delay sentencing before the Republican leader’s inauguration on January 20.
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Here are ten points you should know in Trump sentencing in hush money case:
-In a singular moment in US history, Donald Trump was sentenced Friday for his New York hush money conviction for covering up hush money payments to a porn star after the nation’s highest court refused to intervene with a stay. The judge sentenced Trump in hush money case but declines to impose any punishment.
-An “unconditional discharge” means that Trump’s conviction will appear on his permanent record, but he will not face imprisonment, a fine, or probation.
-“This has been a very terrible experience. I think it has been a tremendous set back for New York and the New York court system,” Trump said in courtroom. During the sentencing, Trump maintained his innocence, stating, “The fact is I’m totally innocent. I did nothing wrong.”-During the sentencing, Trump discussed his 2024 election victory, claiming he won the popular vote by “millions and millions of votes” and secured all seven swing states, adding, “They’ve been watching your trial, so they understood it,” referring to the voters.-He also argued that legal fees were recorded by accountants as legal expenses, not by him personally. “Legal fees were put down as legal expenses by accountants; they weren’t put down by me,” Trump said. “It’s incredible, actually.”
-Referring to the charges against him, Trump called the case “a political witch hunt” intended to damage his reputation.
-“I never falsified business records. It is a fake, made up charge,” the Republican president-elect wrote on his Truth Social platform last week. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office brought the charges, is a Democrat.
-The case stemmed from accusations that he falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had an affair with Trump in 2006, a claim he denies, calling the prosecution politically motivated.
-Judge Juan Merchan upheld the jury’s verdict earlier this month, rejecting Trump’s argument that his November 2024 re-election warranted dismissal of the case. Prosecutors accused Trump of participating in an illegal conspiracy to undermine the election by reimbursing his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, for the payment and falsely categorising it as legal expenses.
-Trump successfully used the courts to delay the hearing, which was originally set for July, and urged the US Supreme Court to pause his sentencing in the case. On Thursday, the high court rejected Trump’s emergency request to delay the sentencing.
(With inputs from agencies)
