A Manhattan judge sentenced Donald Trump to a no penalty conviction for concealing a “hush money” payoff that hid a sex scandal from voters — making the president-elect the first person convicted of a felony to assume the White House
Justice Juan Merchan — who oversaw a trial in which jurors heard evidence that Trump paid off porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal to keep them quiet about alleged trysts — sentenced the Queens native to an “unconditional discharge.”
Trump raged as usual on Truth Social following the brief hearing, claiming that “Radical Democrats have lost another pathetic, unAmerican Witch Hunt.”
The decision means the president-elect will not face any jail time, probation or fines.
The sentencing, which Trump attended remotely appearing on screen from Florida crystallises the soon-to-be 47th commander-in-chief’s historic distinction of being the only US president ever to be convicted of felony criminal charges.
However, it also allows him to finally appeal the guilty verdict that he claims stemmed from a political “witch hunt.”
Jurors saw evidence that Trump worked with his former sidekick Michael Cohen and the National Enquirer magazine to buy up the rights to and bury damaging information about him, like Daniels’ tale about a brief sexual encounter and McDougal’s account of having a months-long affair with Trump.
The prosecution centered on evidence that then-President Trump in 2017 lied on his company’s records to cover up Cohen’s $130,000 payoff that temporarily silenced Daniels from speaking about having sex with Trump in 2006.
The payoff came on the eve of the 2016 presidential election — when Trump was reeling from the release of the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape in which he bragged on a hot mic about grabbing women by their genitals, Cohen told jurors.
Cohen also admitted to serially lying on Trump’s behalf and brazenly stealing $60,000 from his former boss — but insisted that he let Trump know in advance about paying off Daniels because “I wanted the money back.”
Jurors saw 11 invoices, 12 digital ledger entries and 11 checks to Cohen — most of which were signed by Trump — that showed the Trump Organization disguising Cohen’s repayments as phony legal services.
