Trump Receives Sentence in New York
US President-elect Donald Trump has received a sentence in the Manhattan “hush money” case, which he has criticized as politically motivated. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
The US president-elect has been found guilty in his “hush money” case.
Donald Trump, the US President-elect, was sentenced in his criminal case regarding "hush money" payments in New York, occurring just ten days before his upcoming inauguration.
On Thursday, the US Supreme Court rejected Trump's motion to halt the proceedings, referencing their previous decision on presidential immunity. This allowed Judge Juan Merchan to conduct a virtual hearing the following day.
“Unconditional discharge has been affirmed as appropriate. I impose it,” Merchan stated on Friday, siding with the prosecutors' request.
“This creates the status of convicted felon, as he appeals,” the prosecutors contended during the virtual session.
In response, Trump expressed his frustration on his Truth Social platform, stating, “I am innocent of all of the Judge’s made up, fake charges. This was nothing other than Weaponization of our Justice System against a Political Opponent. It’s called Lawfare, and nothing like this has ever happened in the United States of America, and it should never be allowed to happen again.”
In 2023, Trump faced charges related to the misreporting of payments made to adult actress Stormy Daniels in 2017. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg successfully converted what would typically be a misdemeanor into 34 felony counts, one for each reference to those payments in Trump’s records. Trump was found guilty on all counts in May.
Nonetheless, a US Supreme Court ruling in July determined that actions taken by a president during their term cannot be prosecuted. Trump's legal team argued that some evidence presented at trial, including financial disclosures and social media posts, fell under this immunity and should not be used to support claims regarding his personal conduct.
Judge Merchan dismissed this argument last month and denied a motion from Trump's attorneys to throw out the case. In a last-ditch ruling on Thursday, the Supreme Court declined to postpone the sentencing hearing scheduled for Friday, with conservative justices John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett joining the court’s three liberal members in a 5-4 verdict.
Trump has repeatedly asserted that Bragg was pursuing the case on behalf of President Joe Biden, who had been running for re-election against Trump until he withdrew from the race in July in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris. The former president also criticized Judge Merchan, labeling him “conflicted” due to his daughter’s association with Harris’ campaign.
In November, US voters granted Trump both the popular vote and the electoral college win over Harris. He is set to take the oath of office as the 47th US president on January 20.
Bragg argued that payments to Michael Cohen constituted improper campaign contributions in the 2016 election, where Trump triumphed over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Cohen allegedly paid $130,000 to Daniels to ensure her silence about an affair she claimed to have had with Trump years earlier.
Olivia Brown contributed to this report for TROIB News
Donald Trump, the US President-elect, was sentenced in his criminal case regarding "hush money" payments in New York, occurring just ten days before his upcoming inauguration.
On Thursday, the US Supreme Court rejected Trump's motion to halt the proceedings, referencing their previous decision on presidential immunity. This allowed Judge Juan Merchan to conduct a virtual hearing the following day.
“Unconditional discharge has been affirmed as appropriate. I impose it,” Merchan stated on Friday, siding with the prosecutors' request.
“This creates the status of convicted felon, as he appeals,” the prosecutors contended during the virtual session.
In response, Trump expressed his frustration on his Truth Social platform, stating, “I am innocent of all of the Judge’s made up, fake charges. This was nothing other than Weaponization of our Justice System against a Political Opponent. It’s called Lawfare, and nothing like this has ever happened in the United States of America, and it should never be allowed to happen again.”
In 2023, Trump faced charges related to the misreporting of payments made to adult actress Stormy Daniels in 2017. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg successfully converted what would typically be a misdemeanor into 34 felony counts, one for each reference to those payments in Trump’s records. Trump was found guilty on all counts in May.
Nonetheless, a US Supreme Court ruling in July determined that actions taken by a president during their term cannot be prosecuted. Trump's legal team argued that some evidence presented at trial, including financial disclosures and social media posts, fell under this immunity and should not be used to support claims regarding his personal conduct.
Judge Merchan dismissed this argument last month and denied a motion from Trump's attorneys to throw out the case. In a last-ditch ruling on Thursday, the Supreme Court declined to postpone the sentencing hearing scheduled for Friday, with conservative justices John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett joining the court’s three liberal members in a 5-4 verdict.
Trump has repeatedly asserted that Bragg was pursuing the case on behalf of President Joe Biden, who had been running for re-election against Trump until he withdrew from the race in July in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris. The former president also criticized Judge Merchan, labeling him “conflicted” due to his daughter’s association with Harris’ campaign.
In November, US voters granted Trump both the popular vote and the electoral college win over Harris. He is set to take the oath of office as the 47th US president on January 20.
Bragg argued that payments to Michael Cohen constituted improper campaign contributions in the 2016 election, where Trump triumphed over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Cohen allegedly paid $130,000 to Daniels to ensure her silence about an affair she claimed to have had with Trump years earlier.
Olivia Brown contributed to this report for TROIB News
