Republicans cheered hard on Friday as Donald Trump was cleared of the hush money case with a Manhattan judge sentencing him to no penalty on his conviction for concealing the hush money payoff to cover up a sex scandal. But this makes him also the first person convicted of a felony to assume the White House.
Unconditional discharge means Donald Trump would have to pay no fine, no jail time, no probation.
Justice Juan Merchan — the judge of the trial over Trump’s payment to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal to keep them quiet about alleged trysts — sentenced Trump to an “unconditional discharge.”
“They do not reduce the seriousness of the crime or justify its commission in any way,” Merchan said of the legal protections for the office of the presidency. “Ordinary citizens do not receive those legal protections. It is the office of the president that bestows those to the office holder. It is the citizenry of this nation that recently decided that you should once again receive the benefits of those protections,” he said calling it a truly extraordinary case.
Trump appeared from Florida on Friday and called the case a political witch hunt aimed at damaging his reputation. Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche — before the verdict — said it was a “sad day” for the US. “It’s a very sad day. It’s a sad day for President Trump, for his family and friends, but also in counsel’s view, a sad day for this country,” he said.
Trump also spoke about his election victory and said millions and millions of voters made him win because they saw his trial. “They’ve been watching your trial, so they understood it,” Trump said of the voters.
After the verdict, Trump made a long post on Truth Social ranting against the Democrats and how there was no case at all. “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. 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. 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!” Trump posted.
What is an unconditional discharge?
Trump’s conviction was eligible for a penalty of up to four years in prison and several thousands of dollars in finer. But now he is cleared of all that because of his presidential status.
An unconditional discharge essentially means “the case is over, the conviction stands, and no further conditions attach,” Barbara McQuade, a former US attorney and law professor at the University of Michigan told Politico. “That means no prison time, no fine, no community service, no probation, no nothing.”
“It’s essentially a resolution that allows the conviction to stand and preserves the sanctity of the jury’s verdict, but ensures that there are very limited consequences stemming from the conviction,” said Sarah Krissoff, a former federal prosecutor.
But depending on states, an unconditional discharge still carries some consequences like a felon may not be able to vote or own a firearm. Trump is barred from being able to purchase a firearm in either New York or Florida following his conviction, though he did vote for himself in the presidential election.
