Trump escapes prison sentence, fines in felony hush-money case
New York Judge Juan Merchan delivered decision in case on Friday
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has escaped any legal punishment other than a criminal record for his felony crimes, after a judge on Friday handed him an alternative sentence called an unconditional discharge.
Judge Juan Marchan's ruling spares Trump any jail time, fines or probation supervision for his conviction, though the sentence cements his record as the first convicted felon to hold the White House.
The incoming president appeared remotely during the hearing with his lawyer on TV screens in the courtroom. Taking his opportunity to address the court, Trump maintained his innocence and said the case was a "tremendous setback" for the justice system.
"I'm totally innocent, I did nothing wrong," said Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20.
The president-elect was convicted in May on charges he falsified business records to cover up a sex scandal threatening to break during his first presidential campaign in 2016.
A jury found him guilty on all 34 counts, making him the first president to be convicted as a felon.
Trump, 78, fought hard to stop his historic sentencing, including through an emergency application to the U.S. Supreme Court this week. Late Thursday, the top court declined to do so, in a narrow 5-4 majority.
Trump's crimes came with a potential penalty of up to four years in prison and $5,000 US in fines for each count. But trial courts have the power to impose a different sentence if they see fit, based on all the circumstances of the crime and the criminal.
Under New York law, a judge can choose an unconditional discharge if they don't see prison time or probation as being in the public's best interest.
"An unconditional discharge is virtually nothing in terms of punishment," David Dorfman, a law professor at Pace University in New York, told CBC News in an interview Friday.
"You are now known forever as a felon, but basically there's no direct consequence to the 34 convictions. The former and soon-to-be-president owes nothing to the courts."
Dorfman said Merchan was bound by sentencing guidelines. In this case, Trump is a first-time, non-violent offender convicted of the lowest-level felony in New York — and incarcerating the president of the United States would be deeply impractical.
"I think Judge Merchan would've been a lot tougher on him had he lost the election," said Dorfman, who is unconnected to the case.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told the court on Friday that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office supported Merchan's planned sentence.
"The verdict in this case was unanimous and decisive, and it must be respected," Steinglass said.
Trump free to appeal
With sentencing over, Trump is now free to formally appeal the jury's verdict. He cannot pardon himself because those presidential powers only apply to federal crimes, not those brought at the state level.
The New York case revolved around porn star Stormy Daniels, who threatened to go public in the middle of Trump's first presidential campaign about an extramarital encounter between them in 2006.
Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, negotiated a $130,000 hush-money payment to keep Daniels quiet.
Trump paid him back, but Cohen told jurors last spring the former president orchestrated a scheme to falsify records and cover up the deal.
In a last-ditch U.S. Supreme Court filing to stop sentencing, Trump's lawyers argued their client was entitled to full immunity on account of his election win on Nov. 5.
The claim drew on a landmark Supreme Court ruling last year that granted former presidents sweeping immunity for official acts.
In rejecting Trump's last-minute request to stop his sentencing, five Supreme Court justices said Trump could address his stated issues in the ordinary course of appeal. They also found the burden sentencing would pose on the president-elect's responsibilities to be "relatively insubstantial."
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