Prosecutors said that Trump met with Michael Cohen and David Pecker in August 2015, two months after announcing his bid for president, to come up with a plan to bury negative stories about himself.
“I think the reason Judge Merchan and Alvin Bragg, the rogue prosecutor there in Manhattan, were so anxious to get this sentencing done and over with before Donald Trump becomespresident is because, under New York law, that final judgment of conviction isn’t entered until after sentencing takes place,” he said.
In October 2016, just one month before the election, Trump allegedly told Cohen to pay porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about another alleged 2006 affair a few months after Melania gave birth to Barron Trump.
TRUMP VERDICT FALLOUT
NEAMA Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and President of West Coast Trial Lawyers, spoke to The U.S. Sun about the implications of Trump’s “unconditional discharge.”
‘A blatant witch-hunt’ Trump hush-money trial was about humiliation & bias – it was totally baseless
“And so the purpose of presidential immunity is to keep a president from being distracted in that manner.
One giant flag, which stretched throughout a nearby park, celebrated the Republican “trifecta” of the presidency, House, and Senate.
The president-elect was sentenced to unconditional discharge for his 2024 conviction on 34 charges of business fraud related to payments made to adult star Stormy Daniels and covering it up to interfere with the 2016 election.
He is, however, forbidden from owning a firearm and will have to submit a DNA sample as a result of his conviction.
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But a top lawyer has warned that the implications of the verdict are only just being felt.
“Because the Supreme Court declined to stop this sentencing, it reallyis troubling when you look at the purposes behind presidential immunity,” he said.
DONALD Trump’s sentencing on 34 charges related to his hush-money conviction is a “troubling” move for which Americans will pay the price for years to come, a top legal expert has warned.
And as a Florida voter, he will still be able to cast ballots since the state restores felons’ voting rights after they have completed their sentences.
The decision comes just days before Trump is due to be sworn in as president on January 20.
But what does this mean?
“Trump still has a decent chance of getting the conviction overturned on appeal based on presidential immunity, especially in the United States Supreme Court, where four of the Justices were willing to grant his emergency appeal.
He will be the first convicted felon in American history to serve as president.
Judge Juan Merchan, who is the judge presiding over the case, concluded in his opinion that “unconditional discharge” would be the most appropriate sentence because it allows the case to be wrapped up.,
Speaking to The U.S. Sun, Zack Smith, a legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation and former Assistant United States Attorney, warned that the case set a “troubling” precedent.
This is different from a conditional discharge sentence.
“Unfortunately, there is the very real risk that Donald Trump and his team will have to deal with that while also dealing with issues of national importance.”
Many gathered outside the Manhattan courthouse where the verdict was heard.
Cohen used his own funds to keep Daniels quiet, and prosecutors alleged that Trump later disguised the repayments he made to his then-attorney as legal retainers.
Trump has promised to appeal the verdict, a process that will continue throughout his presidency.
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“I suspect many on the left are going to try to use this as a cudgel to brand Donald Trump as a convicted felon, to say that for the first time in our nation’s history, we have a convicted felon taking office as a president,” Smith said.
What was the hush money case against Donald Trump?
On May 30, 2024, Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felony accounts related to illegal payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged sexual encounter. He was sentenced on January 10 and given an unconditional discharge, meaning he will receive no punishment for the guilty verdict. He is the first US president to enter office as a convicted felon.
The payments were made during the 2016 election campaign to cover up an alleged 2006 affair Trump had with her four months after Barron Trump was born.
Unconditional discharge is one of the most lenient sentences a judge can give.