US President-elect Donald Trump avoided any legal punishment other than for his crimes after a judge on Friday gave him an alternative sentence called unconditional release.
Judge Juan Marchan's ruling spares Trump any jail time, fines or probation for his conviction, although the verdict cements his position as the first convicted felon to hold a position in the White House.
The new president appeared remotely during the hearing along with his lawyer on TV screens in the courtroom. Taking the opportunity to address the court, Trump maintained his innocence and said the case represented a “tremendous failure” for justice.
“I am completely innocent, I did nothing wrong,” said Trump, who will take office on January 20.
The president-elect was convicted in May on charges of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal that threatened to break out during his first presidential campaign in 2016.
Jury found him guilty of all 34 chargesmaking him the first president to be convicted of a crime.
Trump, 78, has fought hard to stop the historic ruling, including filing an emergency motion with the U.S. Supreme Court this week. Late Thursday, the high court denied that decision by a slim 5-4 majority.
Trump's crimes carried a potential penalty of up to four years in prison and a $5,000 fine for each count. However, trial courts have the power to impose a different sentence if they consider it appropriate, based on all the circumstances of the crime and the perpetrator.
Under New York Lawa judge may decide to release you unconditionally if he or she does not consider a sentence of imprisonment or probation to be in the best interest of the public.
“Unconditional discharge has virtually nothing to do with punishment,” David Dorfman, a law professor at Pace University in New York, said in an interview with CBC News on Friday.
“Now you are known forever as a criminal, but basically 34 convictions have no immediate consequences. The former and future president has no debts to the courts.”
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Dorfman said Merchan was bound by sentencing guidelines. In this case, Trump is a first-time, non-violent offender convicted in New York of a low-level crime, and imprisoning the president of the United States would be profoundly impractical.
“I think Judge Merchan would have been much tougher on him if he had lost the election,” said Dorfman, who is not connected to the case.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told the court Friday that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office supports Merchan's planned sentencing.
“The verdict in this case was unanimous and decisive and should be respected,” Steinglass said.
Trump may appeal
With the verdict completed, Trump can now formally appeal the jury's verdict. He cannot forgive himself because the president's powers only apply to federal crimes, not those at the state level.
The New York case involved porn star Stormy Daniels, who threatened to go public during Trump's first presidential campaign regarding an extramarital encounter between them in 2006.
Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, negotiated a secret payment of $130,000 to silence Daniels.
Trump repaid it, but Cohen told jurors last spring that the former president devised a plan to falsify documents and conceal the transactions.
In a last-minute request to the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay of sentencing, Trump's lawyers argued that their client was entitled to full immunity based on his victory in the November 5 election.
Claim issued in connection with the landmark Supreme Court ruling last year it granted former presidents broad immunity for official acts.
Rejecting Trump's last-minute request to stop the ruling, five Supreme Court justices said Trump could address the issues raised in the normal course of appeal. They also determined that the burden that a conviction would place on the president-elect's duties would be “relatively immaterial.”