US president Donald Trump has escaped any legal punishment other than a criminal record for his crimes, after a judge on Friday handed him another sentence called an unconditional release.
Judge Juan Marchan's decision spares Trump any jail time, fines or probation for his conviction, although the sentence cements his record as the first to be convicted of keep the White House.
The incoming president appeared remotely during the hearing with his lawyer on TV screens in the courtroom. Taking his opportunity to address the court, Trump maintained his innocence and said the case was a “terrible setback” for the justice system.
“I'm completely innocent, I've done nothing wrong,” said Trump, who will take office on January 20.
The president-elect was indicted in May on charges that he divulged business records to cover up a sex scandal that threatened to break during his first presidential campaign in 2016.
Jury found him guilty on all 34 countsmaking him the first president to be convicted as a felon.
Trump, 78, fought hard to overturn his historic sentence, including through an emergency appeal to the US Supreme Court this week. Late Thursday, the top court refused to do so, in a narrow 5-4 majority.
Trump's crimes came with a possible penalty of up to four years in prison and a $5,000 US fine for each count. But trial courts have the power to impose a different sentence if they see fit, based on the circumstances of the crime and the offender.
Under New York lawa judge can choose an unconditional release if they don't see jail time or probation as being in the public interest.
“Unconditional release is almost nothing in terms of punishment,” David Dorfman, a law professor at Pace University in New York, told CBC News in an interview Friday.
“You are now known forever as a felon, but basically the 34 convictions have no direct effect.
Former US president Donald Trump has been found guilty in his trial in New York. CBC's Anya Zoledziowski breaks down the key evidence and witnesses that led the jury to the historic conviction.
Dorfman said Merchan was bound by sentencing guidelines. In this case, Trump is a first-time, non-violent offender who was convicted of the lowest-level crime in New York – and it would be highly impractical to take his -enter the president of the United States.
“I think it would have been much more difficult for Judge Merchan if he had lost the election,” said Dorfman, who is not connected to the case.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told the court Friday that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office supported Merchan's proposed sentence.
“The decision in this case was unanimous and decisive, and it must be respected,” Steinglass said.
Trump free to appeal
With conviction over, Trump is now free to formally appeal the jury's decision. He cannot pardon himself because these presidential powers only apply to federal crimes, not those committed at the state level.
The New York case revolved around porn star Stormy Daniels, who threatened to go public in the middle of Trump's first presidential campaign about an extramarital affair between them in 2006.
Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, decided to pay a $130,000 hush-money to keep Daniels quiet.
Trump paid him back, but Cohen told jurors last spring that the former president orchestrated a scheme to leak records and cover up the deal.
In a final filing at the US Supreme Court to stay the sentence, Trump's lawyers argued that their client deserved full immunity because of his election victory on November 5.
The application was withdrawn on the special decision of the High Court last year that provided immunity for former presidents for official activities.
In rejecting Trump's last-minute request to stay his sentence, five Supreme Court justices said Trump could deal with his assigned cases in the normal course of appeals. They also found that the burden imposed on the president's duties would be “relatively insignificant”.
