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On Friday, January 10, Donald Trump was sentenced to an "unconditional discharge" by Judge Huan Merchan in his longstanding hush-money criminal case. The 78-year-old became the United States' first former President or President-elect to receive a criminal sentencing.
In May 2024, a 12-person jury unanimously found Donald Trump guilty of 34 felony charges. The charges were concerned with falsifying business records to hide a hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels in 2016. That made him the first former president of the United States to have a felony record. Judge Merchan had allowed the sentencing to be postponed until after the presidential election at Trump's request.
As per New York law, an unconditional discharge means a sentence without any form of punishment, i.e., incarceration, fine, probation, or other forms of obligations. The individual is free to lead their life without any form of restriction imposed by the court.
Unconditional discharge can be imposed by judges if they believe "no proper purpose would be served by imposing any condition upon the defendant's release. In the President-elect's case, it was recommended by both prosecutor Joshua Steinglass and defense attorney Todd Blanche. Judge Huan Merchan was also favoring it, as per Pensacola News Journal.
Why was Donald Trump convicted?
Donald Trump was found guilty of 34 felony charges of falsifying payment sheets to account for a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The 45-year-old claimed that the President-elect got intimate with her and paid her the sum as hush money through his lawyer, Michael Cohen.
All 34 felonies were connected to different records that Trump allegedly falsified to cover up the sum of $130,000 and show them as business expenses. The cover-ups included 12 entries in his ledgers, 11 checks paid to Cohen, and 11 invoices from Cohen.
The legal proceedings were underway during the run-up to his 2016 presidential campaign. According to the former National Enquirer head David Pecker, the 78-year-old played a major role in subduing news about his court case so that it doesn't affect his election campaign.
Throughout the run of the legal proceedings, Trump maintained that he was innocent and the hush money was paid to save his family from embarrassment. The President-elect also opined that the case's motive was to make him a political scapegoat.
After nine hours of deliberations, the Manhattan jury proclaimed him guilty on all counts.
Exploring the future implications of Donald Trump's unconditional discharge
Immediately after his unconditional discharge, Donald Trump took to Truth Social—a social media site that he owns—to lambast the Democrats and describe the case as a 'scam.'
"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," wrote the incoming President.
He continued:
"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."
However, an unconditional discharge doesn't legally mean the recipient is innocent. After a nine-hour deliberation, the former president was declared guilty by a 12-member jury in May. The sentence avoided imposing consequences but left the conviction in place.
The conviction doesn't have the power to stop Donald Trump from becoming the president. As per the constitution of the United States, the only two eligibility criteria for the president include:
- Must be at least 35 years of age.
- Must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, who has lived in the country for a minimum of 14 years.
However, there are certain constraints on Donald Trump because of his status as a convicted felon. According to Florida law, the president-elect is prohibited from:
- Holding a state office
- Being a part of the jury.
- Receiving selected professional licenses like teaching, real estate, law enforcement, insurance, and jobs pertaining to the U.S. military.
A convicted felon in the state of Florida is also required to submit an income tax return every year immediately after filing, along with supporting documentation. A convicted felon is also not allowed to travel to several countries. However, his diplomatic status might allow the 78-year-old to travel to these places unimpeded.
Finally, the President-elect will not be able to pardon himself after assuming office as the President on January 20. The Constitution bestows upon the President the power to "grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment."
However, presidential pardons apply only to federal cases and not state cases like that of the 78-year-old.
