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Judge cites Trump's return to White House as rationale for unconditional discharge sentence
Judge Juan Merchan laid out his rationale for imposing the sentence of unconditional discharge on the president-elect.
“The protections afforded the office of the president are not a mitigating factor. They do no reduce the seriousness of the crime or justify its commission in any way,” the judge said.
“The protections are, however, a legal mandate which, pursuant to the rule of law, this court must respect and follow. However, despite the extraordinary breadth of those protections, one power they do not provide is the power to erase a jury verdict.”
He then handed down his sentence, noting that it is influenced by Trump’s recent presidential election victory:
It was the citizenry of this nation that recently decided that once again you should have the benefits of those protections which include, among other things, the supremacy clause and presidential immunity. It is through that lens and that reality that this court must determine a lawful sentence.
This court has determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of judgment of conviction, without encroaching on the highest office of the land is unconditional discharge.
Therefore, at this time, I impose that sentence to cover all 34 counts.
Merchan concluded with: “Sir, I wish you godspeed as you assume your second term in office.”
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Anna Betts
John Ahern said he flew up from Florida last night so he could be here today.
“This is a travesty of justice” Ahern, 76, said. “I just wanted to be here.”
Ahern, who was also present for Trump’s trial in the spring, lives in New York, but was down in Florida this week, before deciding to fly up for the sentencing.
He spent all day at a Staples store in Florida yesterday printing banners for his protest, he said.
His sign reads, “Enough was enough, we voted!!! Trump won!!!”.
“Ultimately, I’m enthusiastic about what’s going to happen, not just for America, but for the world”, after Trump is inaugurated, he said.
Judge cites Trump's return to White House as rationale for unconditional discharge sentence
Judge Juan Merchan laid out his rationale for imposing the sentence of unconditional discharge on the president-elect.
“The protections afforded the office of the president are not a mitigating factor. They do no reduce the seriousness of the crime or justify its commission in any way,” the judge said.
“The protections are, however, a legal mandate which, pursuant to the rule of law, this court must respect and follow. However, despite the extraordinary breadth of those protections, one power they do not provide is the power to erase a jury verdict.”
He then handed down his sentence, noting that it is influenced by Trump’s recent presidential election victory:
It was the citizenry of this nation that recently decided that once again you should have the benefits of those protections which include, among other things, the supremacy clause and presidential immunity. It is through that lens and that reality that this court must determine a lawful sentence.
This court has determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of judgment of conviction, without encroaching on the highest office of the land is unconditional discharge.
Therefore, at this time, I impose that sentence to cover all 34 counts.
Merchan concluded with: “Sir, I wish you godspeed as you assume your second term in office.”
Judge sentences Trump to unconditional discharge, allowing president-elect to avoid jail time, fines or probation
Judge Juan Merchan has sentenced Donald Trump to unconditional discharge in the hush money case, meaning he will avoid jail time, fines or probation.
“The task is always difficult and deserving of careful consideration – whether the sentence be unconditional discharge or incarceration of 25 years to life,” Merchan began, speaking generally about the challenges and considerations of sentencing a defendant.
“One can argue that the trial was in many respects somewhat ordinary,” Merchan said of how proceedings unfolded, but “the same cannot be said about the circumstances around this sentencing.”
The judge added:
To be sure, it is the legal protections afforded to the office of the president of the United States that are extraordinary – not the occupant of the office.
Trump also claimed that the justice department is involved in the New York case, which is not true.
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg brought the charges against Trump.
The president-elect concluded by saying, “I was treated very, very unfairly” and told Merchan, “Thank you very much.”
Now that Trump is done, the judge is explaining the process behind how a sentence is imposed.
Trump continued to attack the substance of the case against him.
“I get indicted for business records? Everybody should be so accurate. It’s been a political witch hunt ... to damage my reputation so that I’d lose the election, obviously that didn’t work,” Trump continued.
He went on to recount how he had won the November election, noting that he had carried every swing state and the popular vote.
“I was under a gag order, I’m the first pesident in history [under] a gag order,” Trump said. “I assume that I’m still under a gag order but the fact is I’m totally innocent, I did nothing wrong.”
The gag order has been a long-running issue in this case, and was imposed on Trump by Merchan after he began attacking various parties to the proceedings. Here’s more about it:
Trump calls hush money case 'a very terrible experience' at sentencing hearing
Donald Trump addressed the court about his conviction on business fraud charges, speaking to judge Juan Merchan:
This has been a very terrible experience. I think it’s been a tremendous setback for New York, the New York court system. This is a case that Alvin Bragg did not want to bring … from what I read and what I hear, inappropriately handled before he got there.
I called a legal fee a legal expense and for this, I got indicted. It’s incredible, actually.
“They all said this case that should have never been brought, it’s an injustice,” Trump said, referring to claims that legal scholars thought the Manhattan district attorney’s case was lacking.
Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche is now speaking now.
“Legally, this case should not have been brought,” he began. “The majority of the American people also agreed that this case should not have been brought.”
Blanche continued:
The interesting thing was that the fact there was a trial, the first time in our history, the first time in an election season, the American voters got to see and decide for themselves whether this was the case that should have been brought and they decided. And that’s why, in 10 days, president Trump will assume the office of POTUS.
Trump, Steinglass noted, “threatened to retaliate” against the court and prosecution.
“Such threats are designed to have a chilling affect to intimidate those who have a responsibility to enforce our laws in the hopes that they will ignore the defendant’s transgressions, because they fear he is simply too powerful to be subjected to the same rule of law as the rest of us,” the prosecutor said.
“This defendant has caused enduring damage to public perception of the criminal justice system and has placed officers and court in harms’ way,” Steinglass added.
We’re at the part of sentencing when both prosecution and defense are going to state their respective positions on what they believe his sentence should be.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, addressing the court, noted that Donald Trump has been found guilty of 34 felonies, but said that prosecutors would support a sentence of unconditional discharge given the practical issues at play: Trump is going to be president in less than two weeks.
Although the prosecution is not pushing for incarceration or fines, Steinglass went through the threat that Trump’s behavior has played to the US.
Anna Betts
In front of the courthouse, around 15 anti-Trump protesters are gathered along with about 20 Trump supporters.
In the park across the street from the courthouse, a Trump supporter has unveiled a huge flag reading “Trump won trifecta”.
We’re getting formalities out of the way.
Both sides were provided copies of the probation report. When a defendant gets sentenced, officials prepare reports that assess the crimes and character of the defendant, to determine factors such as risk of re-offending, which judges then use in determining punishment.
Trump’s sentencing begins
Judge Juan Merchan has taken the bench, and Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money case is now beginning.
The New York state supreme court judge is not expect to sentence the president-elect to jail, fines or probation over his conviction last year on 34 felony charges related covering up a hush money payment made to an adult film actor before the 2016 election.
Trump appears for sentencing in hush money case
Donald Trump is appearing by video at his sentencing hearing, and is now onscreen next to his lawyer Todd Blanche.
They are in front of an American flag or two – it’s hard to say because we’re straining to see a computer screen that’s about 20 feet away.
Guardian US photographer Julius Constantine Motal is at the courthouse today documenting the scene there:
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg arrives for Donald Trump's sentencing
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, who has long been the target of Donald Trump’s ravings and rants, has entered the courtroom.
He is seated in the second row on the right side of the gallery.
We’re all waiting with bated breath to see Trump. There are four large flat-screen televisions set up for the audience to see him. Those screens now just feature “Standby” messages with a clock.
But, screens on the prosecution and defense tables – which are visible to anyone facing the front of the courtroom, including the gallery – are showing the feed already.
