Judge Juan Merchan sentenced President-elect Donald Trump to an unconditional discharge for his conviction on falsification of business records charges on Friday.
While the president-elect is now officially a convicted felon, he will face no fine, probation jailtime, or other form of punishment.
“The protections afforded the office of the president are not a mitigating factor. They do not reduce the seriousness of the crime or justify its commission in any way,” said Merchan moments before handing down Trump’s sentence, according to Mediaite. “The protections are, however, a legal mandate which, pursuant to the rule of law, this court must respect and follow.”
“It was the citizenry of this nation that recently decided that once again you should have the benefits of those protections which include, among other things, the supremacy clause and presidential immunity. It is through that lens and that reality that this court must determine a lawful sentence,” he continued. “This court has determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of judgment of conviction, without encroaching on the highest office of the land is unconditional discharge. Therefore, at this time, I impose that sentence to cover all 34 counts.”
Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records over payments to his then-lawyer Michael Cohen to reimburse a $130,000 hush money payment made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels, in order to keep her from speaking out about an alleged affair before the 2016 election.
