How Trump Responded to the New York Sentencing

Just 10 days before his second inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump’s designation as a convicted felon became official Friday in a New York court. 

New York Justice Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to an “unconditional discharge,” meaning no jail time, fine, or other penalty. Such a sentence means it will not likely interfere with Trump’s duties as president. Nevertheless, Trump has maintained he is innocent and indicated he will appeal—a process that could be lengthy. 

Though Trump has been assailed by Democrats and the media as “convicted felon” after the jury verdict last spring, a criminal defendant isn’t formally a convicted felon until a judge enters judgment of guilt at the sentencing, say legal experts such as former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy and Yale law professor Jed Rubenfeld.

This bookends a remarkable week for Trump of formalizing long anticipated yet historically significant events. On Monday, a joint session of Congress on Monday formally certified Trump’s 2024 election victory. On Friday, the judge finalized a jury’s guilty verdict. 

Trump posted on Truth Social after the sentencing, “The Radical Democrats have lost another pathetic, unAmerican Witch Hunt.”

“After spending tens of millions of dollars, wasting over 6 years of obsessive work that should have been spent on protecting New Yorkers from violent, rampant crime that is destroying the City and State, coordinating with the Biden/Harris Department of Injustice in lawless Weaponization, and bringing completely baseless, illegal, and fake charges against your 45th and 47th President, ME, I was given an UNCONDITIONAL DISCHARGE,” Trump posted.

“That result alone proves that, as all Legal Scholars and Experts have said, THERE IS NO CASE, THERE WAS NEVER A CASE, and this whole Scam fully deserves to be DISMISSED. The real Jury, the American People, have spoken, by Re-Electing me with an overwhelming MANDATE in one of the most consequential Elections in History,” he added.

“As the American People have seen, this ‘case’ had no crime, no damages, no proof, no facts, no Law, only a highly conflicted Judge, a star witness who is a disbarred, disgraced, serial perjurer, and criminal Election Interference. Today’s event was a despicable charade, and now that it is over, we will appeal this Hoax, which has no merit, and restore the trust of Americans in our once great System of Justice. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The “unconditional discharge” sentencing effectively amounts to a recognition of the Manhattan jury’s guilty verdict from last spring in Trump’s “hush money” case regarding his alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels. 

The New York jury convicted Trump on 34 counts of fraud in the case led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Late Thursday, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, both Republican appointees, joined the three Democratic appointees Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson in a 5-4 ruling.

But the ruling largely locked Merchan into what was previously seen as a suggestion.

“First, the alleged evidentiary violations at president-elect Trump’s state-court trial can be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal,” the order from the high court said. “Second, the burden that sentencing will impose on the president-elect’s responsibilities is relatively insubstantial in light of the trial court’s stated intent to impose a sentence of ‘unconditional discharge’ after a brief virtual hearing.”

Republicans in Congress have raised concerns about a possible conflict by Merchan, since his adult daughter Loren Merchan works for a Democratic political consulting firmr Authentic Campaigns that has worked for candidates opposing Trump and his policies.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., filed a complaint with the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct to investigate Judge Merchan for a potential conflict of interest since his daughter’s firm did work for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. 

Also, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, subpoeanaed Authentic Campaigns last year to determine if the firm or its employees had any communications with the judge. The firm has denied ever communicating with the judge.

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