Trump defiant he did nothing wrong as judge lets off felon president-elect with slap on wrist
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Trump will not face any jail time or fines for his 34 felony convictions. President-elect Donald Trump declared his innocence and said he had a “very terrible experience’”during his hush money trial moments before a judge sentenced him to no jail time or fines in the historic criminal case in New York.
![[A Trump flag sits outside Manhattan Criminal Court, where the president-elect was sentenced on Friday in his hush-money case. Trump will face no jail time or fines related to his felony convictions]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/10/15/2192576138.jpg)
Justice Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to unconditional discharge on Friday after a jury found him guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a scheme to unlawfully influence the 2016 presidential election. This sentence means Trump will not face any jail time or fines.
“Virtually everyone that I know of … not one, these people are not exactly friends of mine, to put it mildly … have all said it’s a case that should never be brought,” Trump told the court before listing off authors and legal analysts he says support his view.
Throughout his remarks, the president-elect maintained his innocence: “I’m totally innocent, I did nothing wrong … The business records were extremely accurate.”. “It has been a political witch hunt, it was done to damage my reputation,” he added.
“I would just like to explain that I was treated very, very unfairly. Thank you very much.”. Friday’s hearing came after the Supreme Court said it would not stop Trump’s sentencing in his criminal hush money trial. Earlier this week, prosecutors argued the nation’s highest court should intervene “to prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the Presidency and the operations of the federal government.”.
