Trump is a criminal, but he will not be punished – Mother Jones

Trump in Manhattan criminal court in May.Michael M. Santiago/PA Wire/Zuma

donald trump The criminal case ended with a hiccup Friday morning when a New York City judge sentenced him to no prison time and dismissed his case. While the incoming president received no real punishment for his 34 convictions for hiding hush payments For adult film actress Stormy Daniels, the sentence formalized her status as a felon, a first for any American president. Trump did not have to be present in court for the sentencing, but appeared by video from Mar-a-Lago, sitting next to his attorney.

During the brief hearing, prosecutors said they agreed with the plan not to give Trump any prison time, but insisted that he be categorized as a felon. Joshua Steinglass of the Manhattan district attorney’s office told Judge Juan Merchan that a probation report prepared for sentencing described Trump as someone who saw himself above the law and refused to take responsibility. responsibility for their actions.

Steinglass argued that Trump, who appeared to sleep or pretended to sleep for much of the trial, and who used his social media to direct vitriol against prosecutors, witnesses and Merchan and her family, should not be allowed to abandon his convictions. without any formal acknowledgment of his misconduct,

“This defendant has caused lasting damage to the public perception of the criminal justice system and has put court officials in harm’s way,” Steinglass said.

“This has been a very terrible experience,” Trump complained in rambling comments to Merchan, adding that he thought “it’s been a tremendous setback” for the state of New York. At one point he complained about his former fixer, Michael Cohen, who testified against him in the case, saying that Cohen talks like George Washington: “But he is not George Washington.“

Aside from other brief comments once again denying that he had done anything and pointing to election results in swing states as a way to claim vindication in the case, Trump reportedly spent most of Friday’s hearing looking distracted by something in front of him, possibly a phone—or grimacing and shaking your head at negative descriptions of your behavior.

Trump and his legal team sought to delay or overturn the case and sentence, taking appeals all the way to the Supreme Court, citing the high court’s July decision that extended presidents unprecedented immunity from criminal prosecution. On Thursday, the Supreme Court, denied their efforts paved the way for Friday’s sentencing.

Speaking from the stand, Merchan reminded Trump that the presidential immunity he tried (and failed) to invoke to avoid convictions applied to the office of presidency, not the individual who has held it. As Merchan put it, he failed to protect “Donald Trump the ordinary citizen, Donald Trump the criminal defendant.”

The sentence of unconditional release means that the case is over, Trump is not punished, and unlike probation, he does not have to follow any conditions (such as keeping a job, passing drug tests, or making restitution) to avoid further consequences. .

During the trial, Trump was fined $9,000 for contempt.