From the BBC:
“Trump to
be sentenced over hush money case but judge signals no jail time”
A judge has
ordered that Donald Trump will be sentenced on 10 January in his hush-money
case in New York - less than two weeks before he is set to be sworn in as
president. New York Justice Juan Merchan signalled he would not sentence Trump
to jail time, probation or a fine, but instead give him an "unconditional
discharge", and wrote in his order that the president-elect could appear
in person or virtually for the hearing. Trump had attempted to use his
presidential election victory to have the case against him dismissed. His team
criticised the judge's decision to go forward with sentencing and said the
"lawless" case should be dismissed "immediately".
Trump was
convicted in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to
a $130,000 (£105,000) payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels. The charges
related to attempts to cover up reimbursements to his ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen,
who in the final days of the 2016 election campaign paid off the adult-film
star to remain silent about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. The
president-elect has denied all wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty, arguing the
case was an attempt to harm his 2024 presidential campaign. On Friday, Trump's
spokesperson criticised Judge Merchan's sentencing order, saying it was part of
a "witch hunt". "President Trump must be allowed to continue the
presidential transition process and to execute the vital duties of the
presidency, unobstructed by the remains of this or any remnants of the witch
hunts," Steven Cheung said. "There should be no sentencing, and
President Trump will continue fighting against these hoaxes until they are all
dead." In his latest motion against the case, Trump had argued the case
would hang over him during his presidency and impede his ability to govern.
Justice
Merchan said he had been advised of several measures he could employ that could
assuage Trump's concerns about being distracted by a criminal case while
serving as president that fell short of the "extreme remedy" of
overturning the jury's verdict. His options included delaying the sentencing
until Trump, 78, leaves the White House in 2029, or guaranteeing a sentence
that would not involve prison time. Trump had initially, and unsuccessfully,
argued the case against him ran afoul of a Supreme Court ruling on presidential
immunity. In July, the country's top court ruled that presidents have broad
immunity from criminal prosecution for "official actions" they take
while in office. However, last month Justice Merchan ruled Trump's hush money
conviction was valid.
Trump is
currently set to be the first convicted felon to serve in the White House. He
may attempt to appeal against the conviction after the sentencing. While
falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years in prison in the
US, there is no minimum sentence and incarceration is not required. Even before
his election victory, legal experts thought it was unlikely Trump would face
jail time given his age and his legal record. Trump has also been charged in
three other state and federal criminal cases: one involving classified
documents and two relating to his alleged efforts to overturn his loss in the
election of 2020. The president-elect was initially scheduled to be sentenced
on 26 November, but Justice Merchan pushed the date back after Trump won the
presidential election.
^ In case you wondered if justice in the United
States is blind – the answer is “No.”
A Convicted
Felon (34 times) can become President even when he has to get permission from
most Countries across the World to visit them because of his Criminal Status.
Any one who
supports a 34 times Convicted Felon (convicted by a Jury of his Peers) can't
claim they are for Law and Justice because then they would be Hypocrites.
There are some
good things about this though.
He will
forever be known as the Convict President and since it is a State Conviction he
can’t Pardon himself like he could if it was a Federal Conviction. ^
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