President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced to be released without restrictions Friday after his criminal conviction in the case of “hush money”. in New York.
Although he will receive no punishment under the sentence of unconditional discharge, Trump and his lawyer have vowed 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 Florida residence, Trump continued to insist during the hearing that he is “totally innocent.”
“It’s been a political witch hunt,” Trump said on camera. “It was done to damage my reputation so that I would lose the election and obviously that didn’t work.”
Prosecutors had also recommended an unconditional dismissal sentence, given Trump’s impending inauguration, but not before destroying Trump’s behavior and the precedent it sets.
“Simply put, this defendant has caused lasting damage to the public’s perception of the criminal justice system and put the officers of the court at risk,” said prosecutor Joshua Steinglass.
Listen to the audio of Trump’s sentencing hearing
Although cameras were not allowed into the courtroom to provide video of the hearing, after its conclusion, the court released the audio, which can be heard in the player above.
Why was Trump convicted?
The case arose from a Hush money payment of $130,000 Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen made adult film star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election. Prosecutors claimed the payment was made to keep unsuspecting voters from the Daniels’ allegation that she had sex with Trump years earlier, a claim Trump still denies.
Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, a felony in New York, and a jury convicted him on all 34 counts.
What is an unconditional leave?
An unconditional discharge, the sentence Merchan imposed on Trump, allows for release without any formal punishment or the ability to impose punishment at a later date.
This means no jail time, no volunteer community service time, and no fines for your conviction. The maximum sentence, which a first-time offender could not have received, was four years in prison and several thousand dollars in fines for each of the 34 charges.
“This court has determined that the only legal sentence that permits the entry of a judgment of conviction without invading the highest office in the land is an unconditional discharge,” Merchan told Trump, wishing him “Godspeed” in his second term.
The sentence is highly unusual, which Merchan suggested was imposed because of legal protections afforded to the office of the President of the United States.
contributed to this report.