A leading legal expert has cautioned that Donald Trump’s sentencing on 34 charges linked to his hush-money conviction is a concerning development with long-term consequences for the American people.
Following his 2024 conviction on 34 counts of business fraud involving payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and attempts to conceal it during the 2016 election, the incoming president has been handed an unconditional discharge.
The illicit payments, aimed at suppressing allegations of an extramarital affair dating back to 2006 shortly after the birth of Barron Trump, were carried out amid the backdrop of the 2016 electoral race.
But the sentencing of unconditional discharge means he will face no jail time or financial penalties.
He is, however, forbidden from owning a firearm and will have to submit a DNA sample as a result of his conviction.
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.
But a top lawyer has warned that the implications of the verdict are only just being felt.
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.
“Because the Supreme Court declined to stop this sentencing, it really
is troubling when you look at the purposes behind presidential immunity,” he said.
“The purpose behind presidential immunity isn’t just to protect someone from the ultimate consequences of an indictment or prosecution they may face.
“It is to protect the holder of that immunity, the president, from having to deal with the associated burdens of litigation.
“Anyone who’s ever been involved in a lawsuit or criminal prosecution knows what an all-consuming, distracting experience that prosecution can be.
“And so the purpose of presidential immunity is to keep a president from being distracted in that manner.
“And yet, because the sentencing was allowed to go forward, the appellate process will now have to play out in a likely, very slow fashion.
“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.”
In other words, Smith warns that the risk of a presidency “distracted” by an ongoing legal fallout represents a very real risk to all Americans and the world at a crucial time in geopolitics.
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.
Donald Trump was accused of having orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election.
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.
Pecker testified in the case, saying that he bought and buried two stories about the soon-to-be president.
One of the stories was about an alleged affair that Trump had with Playboy model Karen McDougal.
“We didn’t want the story to embarrass Mr. Trump or embarrass or hurt the campaign,” Pecker testified.
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.
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 HITS BACK
Trump has condemned the legal process which saw the charges brought against him in the state of New York since the start of the case, branding it a “terrible experience.”
Speaking on his Truth Social app following the sentencing, he called the case a “despicable charade.”
The decision comes just days before Trump is due to be sworn in as president on January 20.
He will be the first convicted felon in American history to serve as president.
What is unconditional discharge sentence?
DONALD Trump will be sentenced today after he was convicted of falsifying business documents. Trump will appear virtually and is expected to be sentenced to unconditional discharge.
But what does this mean?
- Trump will have a conviction on his record.
- He will not serve any jail time or probation.
- He will not have to pay a fine.
- Trump will have the right to appeal the conviction.
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.,
Unconditional discharge is one of the most lenient sentences a judge can give.
Trump will not have to meet any conditions as part of his sentencing.
This is different from a conditional discharge sentence.
Trump has promised to appeal the verdict, a process that will continue throughout his presidency.
That’s why Smith calls the timing of the sentencing significant.
“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 becomes
president is because, under New York law, that final judgment of conviction isn’t entered until after sentencing takes place,” he said.
“And so, despite the fact that Donald Trump has been labeled as a convicted felon, despite the fact that a lot of folks in the mainstream media have talked about him as a convicted felon, that hasn’t been true until this sentencing took place.”
WHAT NEXT?
Trump’s campaign team fired off a fundraising email to supporters within minutes of the sentencing.
His backers will likely see this as a victory, as evidence that there was a political witchhunt against Trump.
Many gathered outside the Manhattan courthouse where the verdict was heard.
A number carried flags and placards declaring the simple message, “Trump Won.”
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.”
“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.
“But if Trump’s convictions are affirmed on appeal, it is more likely that he will be imprisoned if he is convicted of a more serious crime in the future.
“Criminal history and felony convictions are factors that judges take into consideration at sentencing.
“A future prosecution and incarceration is unlikely, though. A sitting president can’t be prosecuted, a former president can only be prosecuted for unofficial acts, and jailing a former president with secret service protection is impractical.
“Trump will be well into his 80s when he is out of office, and when he dies, he can’t be prosecuted either.”
One giant flag, which stretched throughout a nearby park, celebrated the Republican “trifecta” of the presidency, House, and Senate.
But for his opponents, they can now officially state that Donald Trump is a convicted felon.
Smith warned that the case is likely to be used as a weapon against Trump throughout his presidency.
“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.
“But so far, that strategy doesn’t seem to have been very effective, and you would have hoped that many on the left, after the results of November’s election, would have realized that the American people, left right independent, are very troubled by the weaponization of our criminal justice system.”
