‘45, 47, Felon’: Trump sentenced but expert warns ‘now the gloves could come off’
President-elect Donald Trump, at 10:07 AM ET on Friday, was sentenced by Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan after a jury of his peers found him guilty on 34 criminal felony counts of business fraud for what Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg described as “falsifying New York business records in order to conceal his illegal scheme to corrupt the 2016 election.”
He received no punishment. In 10 days, Donald Trump will become the first person to enter the White House as President of the United States as a convicted felon, barring any extraordinary efforts.
Trump's "conviction, a Class E felony offense, is eligible for a penalty of up to four years in prison and several thousands of dollars in fines per count," Politico reports. But Judge Merchan "instead issued a so-called 'unconditional discharge,' a decision that will spare the incoming president any jail time, fines or probation."
Merchan told Trump, “This court has determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of judgement of conviction, without encroaching on the highest office of the land is unconditional discharge,” The Guardian's Hugo Lowell reports.
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Trump said Thursday night he will appeal the conviction.
The President-elect was allowed to appear virtually and was accompanied by his attorney, Todd Blanche. Trump has indicated he will nominate Blanche to be the United States Deputy Attorney General.
an image from Trump's sentencing pic.twitter.com/ds2yP7hoKQ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 10, 2025
A billionaire real estate magnate who entered politics with no experience in 2015 by showcasing his wealth and attacking Mexican immigrants, Trump found his 2016 presidential campaign in jeopardy after the "Access Hollywood" tape was released. It showed a grown man making lewd comments about women, including what many perceived as him joking about, and appearing to brag and admit to, sexual assault. Originally recorded in 2005, it was released just one month before the 2016 election to widespread and bipartisan condemnation. Denying his comments were admitting to sexual assault, Trump called it “locker room talk.”
Trump was found to have paid "hush money" to adult film actress Stormy Daniels—with whom he reportedly had a sexual encounter—in what prosecutors said was an effort to protect his presidential campaign.
A Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump in March of 2023. He was arraigned days later. The jury trial was held in April of 2024. Trump was convicted on all 34 felony counts.
Trump had made desperate attempts to delay sentencing, which originally had been scheduled for July 11, and had already been postponed twice. But Thursday night, after three New York courts refused his requests, the U.S. Supreme Court also refused to stay Friday's sentencing.
"Over the past week, Trump's lawyers filed hundreds of pages of high-pitched arguments in four courts, at every level of the NY judiciary and SCOTUS, in a failed bid to stop these proceedings," reported Just Security's Adam Klasfeld.
During Friday's sentencing, New York prosecutor Joshua Steinglass berated Trump and his actions.
"This defendant has caused enduring damage to public perception of the criminal justice system and has placed officers of the court in harm's way," he told Judge Merchan, according to Courthouse News reporter Erik Uebelacker.
Steinglass added that Trump "engaged in a coordinated campaign to undermine its legitimacy. Far from expressing any kind of remorse for his criminal conduct, the defendant has purposely bred disdain … for the rule of law," Uebelacker also reported.
Klasfeld reported that Steinglass also told the court: "Today's sentence 'cements' Trump's 'status as a convicted felon' and 'gives full respect to the jury's verdict.'"
"After confirming that prosecutors recommend a sentence of unconditional discharge," Klasfeld added, "Assistant DA Joshua Steinglass tears into [Trump] and his 'threats' to 'retaliate against prosecutors.'"
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Politico's Kyle Cheney observed, "The reality of Trump's long-delayed sentence means he will have to fight the appeal while in office, a dynamic his lawyers argued would be a distraction on the presidency. But an appeal is also his only chance to erase the 'felon' label, and he seems eager to begin that process."
"NOW you can call him a convicted felon," remarked NBC News Justice and Intelligence Correspondent Ken Dilanian.
Some critics, including legal experts, are expressing disappointment and frustration.
"Donald Trump sentenced to a complete and total victory over the justice system," civil rights lawyer Matthew Segal, the co-director of the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, wrote from his personal social media account.
"Trump, escaping all punishment for dozens of felonies, says he's been treated 'very unfairly,'" observed Talking Points Memo founder Josh Marshall.
"45, 47, Felon," remarked former U.S. Attorney Barb McQuade, an MSNBC/NBC News legal analyst.
SiriusXM host Dean Obeidallah, a lawyer, lamented the outcome: "No where can you find a person convicted of 34 felonies who is sentenced to no penalties. Period," he wrote.
"Trump should not be heading to the White House. He should be reporting to prison," he added.
Obeidallah also predicted that "Trump will 100% commit more crimes in the next few years. How do I know that? Simple, because Trump knows he will never be held accountable."
Former TIME magazine managing editor Richard Stengel, who served as an Under Secretary of State for President Barack Obama, commented: "I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer to live in a country where no person—not a president-elect, not a president—is above the law."
MSNBC/NBC News legal correspondent Lisa Rubin notes that "now that the sentencing is over, the gloves could come off. Why? Merchan has no more leverage over Trump. The sentencing is over, and so, according to a June 2024 order, is the gag order Trump constantly complains about and frequently distorts. That order expressly expires with 'the imposition of sentence.'"
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