No jail time or fine for Trump in New York hush money case • Idaho Capital Sun

WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump was convicted in his hush money case in New York on Friday, just days before his inauguration, making him the only past and future US president to have a criminal record.

Trump has been the subject of four criminal charges, but the New York state case was the only one to go to trial. A jury convicted him in May of 34 felonies for falsifying invoices, checks and accounting entries, which amounted to a $130,000 reimbursement to his lawyer for paying a porn star before the presidential election from 2016.

New York Judge Juan Merchan sentenced the president-elect to unconditional release, without giving him jail time or a fine, but marking Trump's record 10 days before he was sworn in to become the 47th president.

Speaking during the virtual proceeding from his Mar-a-Lago residence, Trump said he was completely innocent and defended the description of his payments to his lawyer in professional filings as legal fees. As he has in the past, he accused the federal government of being involved in the New York state matter.

It was a political witch hunt designed to damage my reputation and make me lose the election, and obviously it didn't work. And the citizens of our country saw it for themselves because they watched the case in your courtroom, the president-elect said, according to an audio recording published by C-SPAN. Cameras were not allowed in the courtroom during the trial or sentencing.

The courtroom has limited space for the public and journalists.

Merchan called the case extraordinary but said the same burden of proof was applied and a jury of ordinary citizens returned a verdict.

After Merchan explained the phrase, he told Trump: “Sir, I wish you well as you pursue your second term.

Trump was represented Friday morning, and at trial, by his personal attorney Todd Blanche, whom he has chosen to be the nation's next deputy attorney general, the No. 2 position in the U.S. Justice Department.

Last minute attempt by Trump

After months of delay, the sentencing was handed down despite Trump's last-minute request for the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the proceedings. The justices denied Trump's request Thursday evening, although the order said Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh would have granted it.

ABC News reported Thursday that Trump spoke with Alito by phone just hours before submitting the request to the court's emergency filing. Alito told the network that the two men had not spoken about the candidacy.

The sentencing, which lasted less than 30 minutes, was a brief disruption in Trump's preparations for his second presidency. The president-elect was scheduled to host members of the House Freedom Caucus, a contingent of far-right House Republicans, at his Florida estate on Friday. Trump met with Senate Republicans at the Capitol on Wednesday and with Republican governors on Thursday.

Trump called his conviction on his Truth Social platform a scam, a hoax and a despicable charade and he will appeal, a process that will likely drag on for years in New York.

The real jury, the American people, has spoken by re-electing me with an overwhelming MANDATE in one of the most important elections in history, Trump wrote.

The 12 New York jurors who convicted Trump were also U.S. citizens, or Americans, as required by law.

Immunity argument

Trump had challenged his conviction in New York on the grounds that last summer the Supreme Court ruled that former presidents have criminal immunity for official acts while in office, and presumptive immunity for acts relating to their official duties.

Merchan ultimately denied Trump's immunity argument, saying the trial and evidence were entirely about unofficial conduct not afforded any protection by immunity.

Trump has also been busy with another legal battle in recent days as he cheered a court order to block the release of Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith's final report detailing federal criminal charges against Trump for mismanagement and hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. after leaving office and for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Smith ended both cases after Trump's election victory because the Justice Department has a long-standing protocol against prosecuting sitting presidents.

A federal appeals court on Friday rejected requests to block the report entirely, leaving only protections for the portion of the report dealing with the classified documents case following an appeal by Trump's two co-defendants in the case .

Last updated at 10:20 a.m., January 10, 2025

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