President-elect Donald Trump was formally sentenced Friday in his bush money case, but the judge declined to impose any punishment. The outcome cements Trump’s conviction while freeing him to return to the White House unencumbered by the threat of a jail term or fine, reports the Associated Press. Before the sentencing, prosecutors chided Trump’s attacks on the legal system. “The once and future President of the United States has engaged in a coordinated campaign to undermine its legitimacy,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said. As Judge Juan Merchan delivered the sentence, he wished Trump “godspeed in your second term in office.” Trump’s sentence of an "unconditional discharge" caps a case that saw him charged with 34 felonies, put on trial for almost two months and convicted on every count. The trial and sordid details aired in court of a plot to bury allegations of an affair didn’t hurt him with voters. Merchan could have sentenced the 78-year-old to to four years in prison. Instead, he chose a sentence that sidestepped thorny constitutional issues by effectively ending the case but assured that Trump will become the first person convicted of a felony to assume the presidency. Merchan noted that the trial itself carried the hallmarks of every other proceeding. “Never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances,” he said.
Speaking for himself, Trump said, "I'm totally innocent. I did nothing wrong." He argued that voters saw what happened in the courtroom and, like him, thought it was a disgrace and supported him overwhelmingly in the election. “It’s been a political witch hunt,” he said. “It was done to damage my reputation so that I would lose the election, and obviously, that didn’t work ... This has been a very terrible experience. I think it has been a tremendous set back for New York and the New York court system." The sentencing proceeded after the U.S. Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, declined Trump's bid to halt it. In a brief order, a five-justice majority noted that Trump was not facing jail time and that he could still challenge his conviction on appeal. Trump argued that being sentenced 10 days before his inauguration would distract from the presidential transition, the majority said, “The burden that sentencing will impose on the president-elect’s responsibilities is relatively insubstantial.” Four conservative justices, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito., Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, dissented without providing reasons, the New York Times reports.
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