sentencing
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Source: Fulton County Jail / Fulton County Sheriff’s Office
President-elect Donald Trump was officially sentenced in federal court to an unconditional discharge in New York, after the Supreme Court denied his last-ditch appeal.
On Friday morning (Jan. 10), Donald Trump became the first person to officially be a convicted felon who will serve as president of the United States. The president-elect was sentenced to an unconditional discharge by the U.S. District Court Judge Juan Merchan in New York City, having lost his emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in a decision on Thursday night (Jan. 9). The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to deny Trump’s appeal, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson composing the majority vote.
Trump and his lawyer, Todd Blanche, virtually attended the sentencing from Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.
Joshua Steinglass, a prosecutor with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, reiterated the details of the conviction that Trump received last May in the “hush money” trial. Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election to hide their affair. Steinglass blasted Trump for his stream of attacks, saying that he deems himself above the law. “This defendant has caused enduring damage to public perception of the criminal justice system and has placed officers of the court in harm’s way,” Steinglass stated.
Trump was allowed to speak, and as expected, he claimed he was unfairly convicted in a rambling speech for 10 minutes. “This has been a very terrible experience. I think it’s been a tremendous setback for the system and New York,” he began. He would go on to say that his winning the presidential election showed the conviction was unjust. “I was treated very, very unfairly, and I thank you very much,” he concluded. Judge Merchan then began to speak, laying out the reasons for his decision citing the “unique and remarkable set of circumstances.”
The judge noted that “Donald Trump the ordinary citizen, Donald Trump the criminal defendant” would not have had the same punishment and reminded him that his upcoming presidential term shielded him from the more serious consequences, which made Trump visibly wince according to reporting from the courtroom. He then issued the sentence of an unconditional discharge, meaning that Trump would not receive jail time or be fined, and wished him “Godspeed” before concluding the hearing.
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Donald Trump has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to block the sentencing for the hush money case before it takes place at the end of the week.
On Wednesday morning (Jan. 8), Donald Trump made an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court to block his sentencing in the hush money case in New York City. “This court should enter an immediate stay of further proceedings in the New York trial court,” the application from his legal team read, “to prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the presidency and the operations of the federal government.”
Trump was convicted last May on 34 felony counts for falsifying business records related to payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, whom Trump had an affair with. The payments were made through Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, in 2016 before his election to the White House later that year. Trump is scheduled to appear in federal court Friday (Jan. 10) before District Court Judge Juan Merchan, 10 days before he is sworn in as president. Merchan has signaled that he may not give Trump any fines or jail time. Still, the sentencing would solidify Trump’s entering office with the dubious distinction of being a convicted felon.
Trump’s defense hinges on the polarizing ruling made by the Supreme Court last June that said that former presidents did have broad immunity for their past actions. His lawyers also argued that his status if fully sentenced would hinder his abilities as president. “In fact, the prospect of imposing sentence on President Trump just before he assumes office as the 47th president raises the specter of other possible restrictions on liberty, such as travel, reporting requirements, registration, probationary requirements, and others — all of which would be constitutionally intolerable under the doctrine of presidential immunity,” they wrote.
The Supreme Court has directed its prosecutors from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to answer the motion by 10 a.m. Thursday (Jan. 9). The previous appeal in New York was denied on Tuesday (Jan. 7), prompting Trump’s lawyers to file an emergency appeal to that state’s highest court and the Supreme Court simultaneously.
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Source: Fulton County Jail / Fulton County Sheriff’s Office
President-elect Donald Trump is slated to appear for sentencing for his conviction in the “hush money” case in New York City, and his online supporters are beside themselves.
Last Friday (January 3), President-elect Donald Trump received bad news regarding his sentencing in the “hush money” case in New York City when Judge Juan Merchan issued a decision that he would proceed. Judge Merchan ordered the sentencing to take place ten days before Trump is to be sworn in as president in Washington, D.C. The 18-page decision detailed Merchan’s reasoning, primarily explaining that Trump’s claims of immunity citing the Supreme Court’s infamous opinion were not valid. “The Constitution dictates that only a President, after taking the oath of office, has the authority of the Chief Executive, a President-elect does not. Accordingly, a President-elect is not permitted to avail himself of the protections afforded to the individual occupying that Office,” Merchan wrote.
Trump’s constant trashing of Merchan and other lawmakers and the court system also played a part in the decision. “Defendant’s disdain for the Third Branch of government, whether state or federal, in New York or elsewhere, is a matter of public record. Indeed, Defendant has gone to great lengths to broadcast on social media and other forums his lack of respect for judges, juries, grand juries, and the justice system as a whole,” he continued. Trump is not expected to receive any time in jail, as Merchan noted the difficulties in handing a prison sentence to a sitting president, he will not move to throw out the conviction.
Trump raged over that fact in a post on his Truth Social platform in the early hours of Monday morning (January 6), hours before his team declared that they would file an emergency appeal with New York State known as an “Article 78” petition used to challenge decisions by state judges and agencies. Several of Trump’s supporters among the right voiced their displeasure with Merchan on social media. “JUST IN: Judge Juan Merchan has just ordered President Trump to be sentenced in his phony hush money case on January 10th in New York City, 10 days before his inauguration. Outrageous,” wrote Laura Loomer, a far-right activist who’s been an ardent follower of Trump.
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Source: YUKI IWAMURA / Getty
The sentencing of Jonathan Majors has been moved up to April, with the potential of one year in jail for the actor looming as a possibility.
On Tuesday (Feb. 6), Judge Michael Gaffey informed the legal team defending actor Jonathan Majors and the prosecution that he expects Majors to be present in court April 8 to hear his sentence, Deadline reported. Majors was convicted Dec. 18, 2023, on the charges of reckless assault and harassment of his former girlfriend, Grace Jabbari.
The Creed III actor, originally slated to appear in person, appeared virtually in court. The delay in the sentencing was due to the defense filing a motion to set aside the verdict. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has until March 5 to respond to the motion, known as a “330.30 motion,” referencing New York State criminal law. It’s considered a long-shot filing by legal observers.
The motion, which consists of 41 pages, was made public Wednesday (Feb. 9), according to Business Insider. In it, the actor is seeking for the verdict to be put aside citing two factors: a lack of sufficient evidence concerning the reckless assault and harassment charges and a reversible judicial error with regards to the charge of reckless assault.
Priya Chaudhry, Majors’ lead defense attorney, claims that prosecutors “bookended the trial with loud accusations of a deliberate pattern of intentional bad conduct by Mr. Majors,” also claiming that Judge Gaffney improperly gave jurors a choice of charging that Majors injured Jabbari intentionally or recklessly.
A spokesperson for Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg sent a statement to the press, saying: “The Court has already heard and rejected the arguments supporting this motion when the defense originally raised them during the trial. The jury then convicted Mr. Majors of Assault in the 3rd Degree and Harassment in the 2nd Degree. We will respond in detail in court papers.”
The once highly sought-after actor, who was fired by Marvel as the face of Kang the Conqueror after the verdict came down, faces one year in prison for the charges. Judge Gaffney said that he intended to make a ruling on the case by April 1 before adjourning.
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