Trump gets no-penalty sentence in his hush money case, while calling it 'despicable'

NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced Friday to nary punishment successful his historic hush wealth case, a judgement that lets him instrumentality to the White House unencumbered by the menace of a jailhouse word oregon a fine.

With Trump appearing by video from his Florida estate, the condemnation softly capped an bonzer lawsuit rife with moments unthinkable successful the U.S. lone a fewer years ago.

It was the archetypal transgression prosecution and archetypal condemnation of a erstwhile U.S. president and large statesmanlike candidate. The New York lawsuit became the lone 1 of Trump's 4 transgression indictments that has gone to proceedings and perchance the lone 1 that ever will. And the sentencing came 10 days earlier his inauguration for his 2nd term.

In astir six minutes of remarks to the court, a calm but insistent Trump called the lawsuit “a weaponization of government” and “an embarrassment to New York.” He maintained that helium did not perpetrate immoderate crime.

"It’s been a governmental witch hunt. It was done to harm my estimation truthful that I would suffer the election, and, obviously, that didn’t work,” the Republican president-elect said by video, with U.S. flags successful the background.

After the astir half-hour proceeding, Trump said successful a station connected his societal media web that the proceeding had been a “despicable charade.” He reiterated that helium would entreaty his conviction.

Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan could person sentenced the 78-year-old to up to 4 years successful prison. Instead, Merchan chose a condemnation that sidestepped thorny law issues by efficaciously ending the lawsuit but assured that Trump volition go the archetypal president to instrumentality bureau with a felony condemnation connected his record.

Trump’s no-penalty sentence, called an unconditional discharge, is uncommon for felony convictions. The justice said that helium had to respect Trump's upcoming ineligible protections arsenic president, portion besides giving owed information to the jury's decision.

“Despite the bonzer breadth of those protections, 1 powerfulness they bash not supply is the powerfulness to erase a assemblage verdict,” said Merchan, who had indicated up of clip that helium planned the no-penalty sentence.

As Merchan pronounced the sentence, Trump sat upright, lips pursed, frowning slightly. He tilted his caput to the broadside arsenic the justice wished him “godspeed successful your 2nd word successful office.”

Before the hearing, a fistful of Trump supporters and critics gathered outside. One radical held a banner that read, “Trump is guilty.” The different held 1 that said, “Stop partisan conspiracy” and “Stop governmental witch hunt.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose bureau brought the charges, is simply a Democrat.

The norm-smashing lawsuit saw the erstwhile and incoming president charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying concern records, enactment on trial for astir 2 months and convicted by a assemblage connected each count. Yet the ineligible detour — and sordid details aired successful tribunal of a crippled to hide matter allegations — didn’t wounded him with voters, who elected him successful November to a 2nd term.

Beside Trump arsenic helium appeared virtually Friday from his Mar-a-Lago spot was defence lawyer Todd Blanche, with spouse Emil Bove successful the New York courtroom. Trump has tapped some for high-ranking Justice Department posts.

Prosecutors said that they supported a no-penalty sentence, but they chided Trump's attacks connected the ineligible strategy passim the case.

“The erstwhile and aboriginal president of the United States has engaged successful a coordinated run to undermine its legitimacy,” authoritative Joshua Steinglass said.

Afterward, Trump was expected to instrumentality to the concern of readying for his caller administration. He was acceptable aboriginal Friday to big blimpish House Republicans arsenic they gathered to sermon GOP priorities.

The circumstantial charges successful the hush wealth lawsuit were astir checks and ledgers. But the underlying accusations were seamy and profoundly entangled with Trump’s governmental rise.

Trump was charged with fudging his business' records to veil a $130,000 payoff to porn histrion Stormy Daniels. She was paid, precocious successful Trump’s 2016 campaign, not to archer the nationalist astir a intersexual encounter she maintains the 2 had a decennary earlier. He says thing intersexual happened betwixt them and that helium did thing wrong.

Prosecutors said Daniels was paid disconnected — through Trump's idiosyncratic attorney at the time, Michael Cohen — arsenic portion of a wider effort to support voters from proceeding astir Trump's alleged extramarital escapades.

Trump denies the alleged encounters occurred. His lawyers said helium wanted to squelch the stories to support his family, not his campaign. And portion prosecutors said Cohen's reimbursements for paying Daniels were deceptively logged arsenic ineligible expenses, Trump says that's simply what they were.

“For this I got indicted,” Trump lamented to the justice Friday. “It’s incredible, actually."

Trump's lawyers tried unsuccessfully to forestall a trial, and aboriginal to get the condemnation overturned, the lawsuit dismissed oregon astatine slightest the sentencing postponed.

Trump attorneys person leaned heavy into assertions of statesmanlike immunity from prosecution, and they got a boost successful July from a Supreme Court decision that affords erstwhile commanders-in-chief sizeable immunity.

Trump was a backstage national and statesmanlike campaigner erstwhile Daniels was paid successful 2016. He was president erstwhile the reimbursements to Cohen were made and recorded the pursuing year.

Merchan, a Democrat, repeatedly postponed the sentencing, initially acceptable for July. But past week, he set Friday's date, citing a request for “finality.”

Trump's lawyers past launched a flurry of last-minute efforts to artifact the sentencing. Their past anticipation vanished Thursday nighttime with a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that declined to hold the sentencing.

Meanwhile, the different transgression cases that erstwhile loomed implicit Trump person ended oregon stalled up of trial.

After Trump's election, peculiar counsel Jack Smith closed retired the national prosecutions over Trump’s handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn his 2020 predetermination nonaccomplishment to Democrat Joe Biden. A state-level Georgia predetermination interference case is locked successful uncertainty after prosecutorFaniWillis was removed from it.

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Associated Press writer Adriana Gomez Licon successful West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.