- By Sahelee Rakshit
- Fri, 10 Jan 2025 09:18 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced by a US judge on Friday for his criminal conviction related to hush money payments made to a porn star. He will not be imprisoned or fined before his inauguration, however, the sentencing will place a judgment of guilt on his record.
Donald Trump might have been imprisoned for up to four years. But Manhattan Judge Juan M Merchan ended the case with a sentence that avoided difficult constitutional issues. Nonetheless, the decision guaranteed that the Republican would be the first US president with a felony conviction.
The judge stated that he must consider any aggravating elements before issuing a sentence. He did, however, add that the legal protection that Trump will get as president "is a factor that overrides all others."
According to the judge, a jury verdict cannot be overturned by the president's legal protections.
Trump was found guilty in May of this year on 34 counts of falsifying business records. But instead, the judge granted an unconditional discharge, the least severe criminal penalty conceivable.
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"Never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances. The only lawful sentence that permits entry of a judgment of conviction without encroaching on the highest office of the land is an unconditional discharge," the judge said.
Trump Calls Conviction Setback For NY
The session was practically attended by the US president-elect. His conviction, he said, was a huge blow to New York and the New York legal system.
"This has been a very terrible experience. I think it's been a tremendous setback for New York and the New York court system," Trump said before the discharge was passed.
He said that his conviction was made to prevent him from winning the US presidency.
