Donald Trump was given a no-penalty sentence in his “hush money” case Friday by a Manhattan judge — cementing his status as the first convicted felon to become president but freeing him of the threat of jail or fines as he readies to re-enter the White House.
Trump, 78, vowed that he would appeal in a statement on Truth Social posted shortly after the sentencing, in which he wrote that “Radical Democrats have lost another pathetic, unAmerican Witch Hunt.”
“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,” he said.
Justice Juan Merchan — who oversaw a trial in which jurors found Trump guilty of concealing a payoff that hid a sex scandal from voters — sentenced the Queens native to an “unconditional discharge” during a brief hearing in Manhattan Supreme Court.
“Sir, I wish you Godspeed as you assume your second term in office,” Merchan told the Republican president-elect, who appeared via video from Palm Beach, Florida in front of two American flags.
Trump could have faced up to four years behind bars on each of the 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Read more
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