From zerohedge.com
President Trump will not see jail or pay any fines over his criminal conviction in his hush money trial, a judge ruled on Friday.
Days before his inauguration, a New York prosecutor recommended no jail time for US President-elect Donald Trump at his Friday sentencing in his 'hush money' trial.
As the session began, Trump, wearing a red tie with white stripes, sat silently and did not respond when Merchan greeted him, Reuters reports.
Merchan sentenced Trump, 78, to unconditional discharge, which places a judgement of guilt on Trump's permanent record - without any other legal penalties. And of course, he'd love to have punished Trump, if not for the whole President-elect thing.
"It is clear from legal precedent ... that Donald Trump, the ordinary citizen [and] Donald Trump, the criminal defendant, would not be entitled to such considerable protections," said Merchan.
"I'm referring to protections that extended well beyond those afforded the average defendant who winds their way through the criminal justice system each day. No, ordinary citizens do not receive those legal protections. It is the office of the president that bestows those far-reaching protections to the office holder.
"It is the legal protections afforded to the office of the president of the United States that are extraordinary, not the occupant," said Merchan, as Trump listened during a virtual appearance. "Never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances."
As the Epoch Times notes further, Merchan asserted that "Donald Trump the ordinary citizen, Donald Trump the criminal defendant" would not be entitled to the presidency's protections. He said that office is the only one that shields Trump from the verdict's seriousness.
He wished Trump "Godspeed" as he prepares for a second term in office before Merchan left the bench.
Trump also notably called the judge's impartiality into question when he requested Merchan's recusal, citing his daughter's relationship with a Democratic group.
Trump had attempted to halt sentencing with multiple appeals to New York courts and the U.S. Supreme Court - each of which ultimately denied his requests. The case could nonetheless spawn future appeals and result in the conviction being overturned.
During Trump's trial, he was held in contempt 10 times and faced multiple gag orders, before a jury found him guilty in May on 24 felony counts of falsifying business records.
"I'm totally innocent, I did nothing wrong," said Trump before sentencing.
"It's been a political witch hunt," he continued. "It was done to damage my reputation so I would lose the election and obviously that didn't work."
Trump says he will appeal in a post to Truth Social:
"The Radical Democrats have lost another pathetic, unAmerican Witch Hunt. After spending tens of millions of dollars, wasting over 6 years of obsessive work that should have been spent on protecting New Yorkers from violent, rampant crime that is destroying the City and State, coordinating with the Biden/Harris Department of Injustice in lawless Weaponization, and bringing completely baseless, illegal, and fake charges against your 45th and 47th President, ME, I was given an UNCONDITIONAL DISCHARGE.
That result alone proves that, as all Legal Scholars and Experts have said, THERE IS NO CASE, THERE WAS NEVER A CASE, and this whole Scam fully deserves to be DISMISSED. The real Jury, the American People, have spoken, by Re-Electing me with an overwhelming MANDATE in one of the most consequential Elections in History.
As the American People have seen, this "case" had no crime, no damages, no proof, no facts, no Law, only a highly conflicted Judge, a star witness who is a disbarred, disgraced, serial perjurer, and criminal Election Interference.
Today's event was a despicable charade, and now that it is over, we will appeal this Hoax, which has no merit, and restore the trust of Americans in our once great System of Justice. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Comments
Hopefully the DOJ will use the full power of the federal "justice" system to deport this communist Colombian judge back to where he belongs. Also everyone involved should be disbarred and expunged from the court system, and made to pay back the costs of this SHAM trial.
Merchan is corrupt as hell and runs a kangaroo court. But in a way he was very helpful getting Trump elected. Only he's too out of touch with reality to realize it.
Rapists and murderers go free in NYC while they pull this crap. Let them call him a convicted felon. He should wear it like a badge of honor. And when this does get overturned (which it will, though it may take another year minimum) I will enjoy referring to our president as "Vindicated Trump".
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