On Friday, January 10, New York Judge Juan Merchan issued a historic sentence for President-elect Donald Trump, granting him “unconditional discharge” for 34 felony convictions.
He appeared virtually from Florida for his sentencing on Friday morning at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in New York City. The hearing was scheduled at the last minute to ensure closure before Inauguration Day. Trump’s attempts to cancel his sentencing were denied by the New York State Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.
Before the sentence was handed down, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass stated that, while the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office ultimately recommended unconditional discharge out of respect for the presidency, he did not want to minimize Trump’s “unsubstantiated attacks” on the rule of law and his “coordinated campaign” to undermine the jury’s decision.
Trump will be sworn in as US president for the second time on Monday, Jan. 20. He was previously found guilty by 12 jurors of falsifying business records to conceal a plot to tilt the 2016 presidential election in his favor.
With the unanimous guilty verdict, he became the first sitting or former President of the United States to be convicted of a crime. His charges could result in up to four years in prison at the court’s discretion.
What is unconditional discharge?
When Judge Merchan set Trump’s sentencing date, he admitted that he did not intend to imprison the president-elect. According to the judge, instead of parole, “unconditional dischargeĀ appears to be the most viable option to ensure finality and allow Defendant to pursue his appellate options.”
Unconditional discharge is essentially a non-punishment ā a way for New York courts to recognize someone’s conviction as valid while simultaneously releasing them “without imprisonment, fine, or probation supervision.”
The sentence is permissible in cases where there appears to be “no proper purpose” for imposing restrictions on someone. Judges are required by New York law to provide reasoning for their decision if they choose that route.
Given Trump’s impending inauguration and speculation that a sitting president’s sentence would need to be paused during their tenure, Merchan chose the path of least resistance with his sentence.
Despite declining to punish Trump, Merchan’s final decision is not what the president-elect wanted: he remains a convicted felon.
Still, with a sentence issued and the case closed, Trump can now file a proper appeal of his verdict after seven months. His attorney confirmed on Friday that he intends to.
What did Trump get convicted for?
Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records on May 30, 2024, following a six-week trial in Lower Manhattan.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office charged Trump with falsifying financial records “with intent to defraud” to conceal a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. The charges were elevated from misdemeanor to felonies.
The DA’s office argued that by falsifying the records, Trump was attempting to conceal evidence of an illegal conspiracy to influence the 2016 election.
The Manhattan case, colloquially known as Trump’s “hush money” trial because Daniels’ hush money payment anchored the narrative, extended far beyond white-collar crime. It was the first of four criminal cases brought against the former president in 2023, three of which focused on election interference.
Manhattan prosecutors used evidence and witness testimony to show that a former reality TV star illegally influenced a presidential election by conspiring with powerful friends to suppress voter information.
The jury’s guilty verdict indicated that, beyond a reasonable doubt, the evidence presented to them supported the prosecution’s case.
Since leaving the White House, Trump has been found liable in unrelated civil lawsuits for fraud, sexual abuse, and defamation against former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll. His three other criminal cases were never tried. Each of these cases resulted in substantial fines.
