Judge Rules Out Prison Time for Trump in 'Hush Money' Case
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New York, Jan 4 (NationPress) The presiding judge in the “hush money” case has announced that President-elect Donald Trump will avoid a prison term while upholding his conviction. Judge Juan Marchan declared on Friday that he would issue an “unconditional discharge” for Trump during the sentencing set for January 10, just 11 days prior to his inauguration as the US President.
While affirming the conviction, he rejected the argument from Trump’s legal team that a Supreme Court decision regarding presidential immunity was applicable here, noting that Trump's actions were not of an official capacity.
The case was initiated by local Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, who accused Trump of breaching the law by documenting payments made to a pornographic actress as legal expenses.
These payments were executed through his attorney to secure the silence of Stormy Daniels, who alleged a romantic encounter with him.
Bragg categorized each check issued for these payments as individual offenses, leading to Trump's conviction on 34 charges.
Despite Vice President Kamala Harris and her backers emphasizing this issue during last year’s election campaign, voters ultimately chose Trump.
Trump has portrayed himself as a victim of politically motivated persecution.
However, Marchan’s decision casts a shadow of criminal conviction over Trump as he prepares to take office on January 21.
Had he been sentenced, Trump could have faced up to four years in prison – a situation deemed absurd given his electoral majority.
In a response on Truth Social, Trump labeled Marchan's decision to uphold the conviction as an “illegitimate political attack” and a “Rigged Charade”.
He also noted that Marchan imposed a gag order restricting his comments about the case, claiming it was an attempt to hide the judge’s and his family’s disqualifying and illegal conflicts.
It is worth mentioning that Marchan’s daughter presides over a company that did campaign work for Kamala Harris, who opposed Trump in the previous election.
Moreover, two federal cases initiated by a special counsel against Trump have been dismissed.
One case involved allegations of violating the Official Secrets Act by retaining documents post-presidency, while another concerned alleged election interference related to the January 6, 2021 riots during the certification of President Joe Biden's election by Congress.
An additional local case in Georgia accusing him of election interference has been complicated by allegations of misconduct against the prosecutor, an elected Democrat, who employed an inexperienced attorney who was her boyfriend to handle the case.
