USA Court: No punishment for Trump - but guilty verdict remains
US President-elect Donald Trump gets off without punishment in the hush-money trial in New York. However, the guilty verdict against the 78-year-old remains in place. Trump will therefore enter the White House on January 20 as a convicted felon.
10.01.2025, 16:43
SDA
At the sentencing hearing in the hush money trial, Judge Juan Merchan - as previously announced - imposed an "unconditional discharge" on the Republican, as the US media, including the New York Times and CNN, unanimously reported from the courtroom.
Although this form of conviction does not entail any further criminal consequences such as a prison sentence or fine, it does establish legal guilt - in accordance with the jury's verdict of guilty. Trump was only present at the sentencing hearing via video.
This very rarely used sentence is unlikely to have any direct impact on Trump's presidency; it is more of a symbolic nature. Nevertheless, Trump tried with all his might to avert this step at the last minute - probably out of concern for his public image. For the first time in the history of the USA, a convicted felon is now moving up to the highest office in the land.
Trump wanted to prevent the sentencing by any means necessary
Trump's lawyers had tried in various ways until the end to avert the sentencing. After unsuccessful appeals at lower court level, they finally filed an urgent appeal to the Supreme Court, which the highest US court rejected on the evening before the sentence was handed down.
The trial concerned the illegal concealment of 130,000 US dollars in hush money that Trump had paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels - in the court's opinion with the aim of gaining advantages in the 2016 election campaign. At the end of May 2024, a jury in New York found Trump guilty on 34 charges. It was the first time in the history of the United States that a former president was convicted of a criminal offense.
Trump's resistance to conviction
Trump considers the proceedings against him to be unlawful and attempted to overturn the conviction. He is relying on a decision by the Supreme Court, according to which US presidents enjoy extensive immunity for actions in office. However, the New York judge stated in December that the decision did not apply in this case, as the hush money payments in question took place before Trump's first presidency from 2017 to 2021. Furthermore, the payments were made as a private citizen.
However, the Supreme Court had also ruled at the time that official acts by US presidents may not be cited as evidence in criminal proceedings. This is likely to become an issue in appeal proceedings at the latest, which could end up before the Supreme Court again.
Trump had shifted the majorities on the Supreme Court far to the right during his first term of office. Only three of the nine judges are now still assigned to the liberal camp. The court has often ruled in Trump's favor in this constellation of appointments.
Following the sentencing, Trump could formally appeal against his conviction in New York. However, he would not be able to pardon himself as president. In the case of a conviction at state level, as in this case in New York, such a decision is in the hands of the respective governor.
The other proceedings against the Republican
Trump was also indicted in three other criminal proceedings - on various charges. However, two federal trials against him were dropped after his election victory. In these cases, the public prosecutor's office argued that it was the Department of Justice's practice not to investigate sitting presidents. A third case against him in the state of Georgia was largely paralyzed due to legal dodges and could collapse completely after the departure of the responsible public prosecutor. Trump's lawyers had torpedoed all proceedings to the best of their ability from the outset.
