President-elect Donald Trump has been sentenced in his Manhattan hush money case and he was furious about it, but one legal expert said that it was actually a benefit to him.
CNN legal expert Ellie Honig spoke on the network after the Supreme Court refused to stop the sentencing.
“I think it was perfectly sound,” he said. “Basically, the justices in the majority said two things. First of all, they said ‘What‘s the harm? You‘re going to get sentenced to zero. You can do it by Zoom. You can roll out of bed and do it. And, second of all, you do maybe have substantial issues.’ I think he has substantial issues on appeal, but you can handle them through the full appeal process that will follow your sentencing.”
“Trump actually gets a benefit by being sentenced tomorrow, which is once that sentencing is over as of tomorrow morning, then he can take his full appeals,” he said. “He can go up to the New York Courts of Appeals. He can go maybe to the U.S. Supreme Court and say, ‘The charge against me was unconstitutional,’ which I think it may be. He can say that the jury was not properly instructed, but if he had gotten his way, if he was not sentenced tomorrow, he would not have been able to appeal.”
Judge Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to an “unconditional discharge” on Friday. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office did not oppose the decision, likely because it still brands Trump a felon officially.
Under New York state law, it’s a sentence imposed “without imprisonment, fine, or probation supervision.”
According to the law, such a sentence can be appropriate when the judge “is of the opinion that no proper purpose would be served by imposing any condition upon the defendant’s release.”
It is essentially a way to resolve the hush money case without Merchan having to jail Trump or impose any penalties that could hinder his potential return to the White House.
At the end of the hearing, Merchan issued words of encouragement to Trump.
“Sir, I wish you godspeed as you assume your second term in office,” Merchan said in his final statement to Trump.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told the judge in court that the DA’s office is recommending a sentence of “unconditional discharge.”
The DA’s office wanted a sentence of unconditional discharge so they could preserve Trump’s status as a convicted felon while he pursues his appeals.
After Steinglass finished speaking, Trump spoke and did not pull any punches.
“This has been a very terrible experience and a setback for the New York court system,” Trump said, appearing virtually from Mar-a-Lago.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche says it’s a “sad day” for the US.
“It’s a very sad day. It’s a sad day for President Trump, for his family and friends, but also in counsel’s view, a sad day for this country. A lot of what the government just said presupposes that this case is legally appropriate,” Blanche said.
Blanche noted that Trump’s lawyers intend to appeal the verdict.
“A majority of the American people also agree that this case should not have been brought,” Blanche added.
“I very, very much disagree with much of what the government just said about this case, about the legitimacy of what happened in this courtroom during the trial, and about President Trump’s conduct fighting this case,” Blanche declared.
“It’s been a political witch hunt; it was done to damage my reputation,” Trump said.
Trump also discussed his 2024 election victory, saying he won the popular vote by “millions and millions of votes” and noting that he won all seven swing states.
“They’ve been watching your trial, so they understood it,” Trump said of the voters.
“The fact is, I’m totally innocent. I did nothing wrong,” Trump declared in court.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
