US President-elect Donald Trump appears remotely at a sentencing hearing before New York State Judge Juan Merchan with his attorney Todd Blanche (L) in Manhattan Criminal Court on January 10, 2025 in New York.
Curtis means | Getty Images
President Donald Trump was acquitted on Friday in his New York money laundering case, 10 days before his inauguration for a second term in the White House.
Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to an “unconditional discharge,” meaning no jail time, no probation and no fine.
“This was a very horrible experience,” Trump, who attended the hearing remotely, said before the sentencing.
“This was a political witch hunt,” he said, claiming the case was filed “to damage my reputation in order to lose the election.”
In May, a jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a $130,000 hush money payment made by his then-personal attorney to porn star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels was paid to keep quiet about claims she once had sex with Trump a decade earlier, claims the president-elect has denied.
Merchan said an unconditional dismissal is the only legal punishment he can impose without impinging on the presidency.
Protecting that office “is the factor that trumps all others,” Merchan said.
“Donald Trump, an ordinary citizen, Donald Trump accused of a crime, would not be entitled to such significant protection,” he said.
The judge’s actions will formally make Trump the first convicted felon to ever occupy the Oval Office.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass noted at the start of the hearing that each charge against Trump carries a sentence of up to four years in state prison.
But “The People recommends a sentence of unconditional release,” Steinglass said.
“We must respect the function of the president and keep in mind the fact that this defendant will be inaugurated as president in ten days,” he explained.
But the prosecutor also criticized Trump for his relentless attacks on the justice system throughout the case, saying the president-elect had “caused lasting damage to the public’s perception of the criminal justice system.”
Trump, who appeared on a monitor wearing a red striped tie and sitting in front of American flags, frowned and appeared bored during Steinglass’ remarks.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, responded that he disagreed with the prosecutor about the validity of the case and Trump’s conduct.
“It’s a sad day for President Trump and his family and friends, but it’s also … a sad day for this country,” said Blanche, who Trump has chosen to serve as deputy US attorney general in the next administration.
Thursday’s hearing comes a day after Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, attended former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral in Washington. The Trumps have sat with every other living former president.
The US Supreme Court on Thursday night removed the last legal hurdle to sentencing Trump, denying his request to block proceedings in the case.
The decision was close — 5 to 4 — with Trump appointee Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining fellow conservative Chief Justice John Roberts and three liberal justices in the majority decision.
The ruling said that Trump’s sentence would impose a “relatively insignificant” burden on his presidential responsibilities and that he still has the right to appeal claims that Merchan improperly admitted certain evidence at trial.
Trump’s lawyers argue that he is immune from prosecution, but courts have repeatedly rejected that claim as it relates to a cover-up case because he was not yet president when the original conduct in the case occurred.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
