President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced today after his conviction last year on 34 charges of business fraud related to hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Judge Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to unconditional discharge. The sentencing, which was expected, means Trump will remain a felon but faces no jail time, penalties or probation for his conviction in the hush money case.
Merchan said that “never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstance.”
Friday’s sentencing cements the fact that Trump will be the first convicted felon to become president.
Here’s what happened in court on Friday:
Prosecutor’s recommendation: Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass recommended a sentence of unconditional discharge for Trump.
“Your honor indicated an inclination to impose an unconditional discharge under all the circumstances of this case, this unique posture and the defendant’s status as president-elect, the people recommend a sentence of unconditional discharge,” he said.
Steinglass listed off things he said Trump has done post-verdict to undermine the jury’s verdict, while Trump leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, shaking his head side to side. The prosecutor told the court that Trump has been “far from expressing any kind of remorse for his criminal conduct” and “encouraged others to reject the jury verdict.”
He acknowledged that any other conditional discharge has the potential to interfere with Trump’s obligations to the office of the presidency, saying in court, “We must be respectful of the office of the presidency” and his pending inauguration.
Plans to appeal verdict: Following Steinglass’ comments in court, Trump attorney Todd Blanche said, “A lot of what the government just said presupposes that this case is legally appropriate,” while noting that Trump’s lawyers intend to appeal the verdict.
Blanche, who is Trump’s pick for deputy attorney general, argued for the president-elect, saying he disagrees with prosecutors, while Trump looked forward without reacting to what his attorney was saying to the judge.
“I very, very much disagree with much of what the government just said about this case, about the legitimacy of what happened in this courtroom during the trial, and about President Trump’s conduct fighting this case,” Blanche said.
Trump’s statement: Trump began his statement at today’s hearing saying that “this has been a very terrible experience” and insisted he is innocent.
“It’s been a political witch hunt, it was done to damage my reputation,” Trump said.
Trump went after the indictment and the charges of falsifying business records — after he chose not to testify at the trial. He said legal fees were not put down by him, but by his accountants. The president-elect also discussed his 2024 election victory, saying in court that he won the popular vote by “millions and millions of votes.”
Trump also released a statement via social media, calling the sentencing “a despicable charade.”
Listen to the hearing: The court released audio of the proceedings shortly after today’s hearing. Listen to Trump and Judge Juan Merchan in the recording here.
How we got here: The president-elect 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 — a highly unusual request that relies in part on the court’s decision last year to grant him broad immunity from criminal prosecution. On Thursday, the high court rejected Trump’s emergency request to delay the sentencing.