Before I get to the specifics of the sentencing of President Trump, I would like to point out something about the news coverage. It is protocol to refer to a person who has held a government position by the title of the highest position held. The protocol results in the following: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, President Clinton, President Obama, President Bush. How many news reports have you listened to that referred to ‘Mr. Trump,’ as he was referred to by Judge Merchan? I don’t think these people are ignorant of the protocol–they are simply biased. Even if he had not be elected to a second term, the correct title according to protocol is President Trump. So the next time you hear a newscaster refer to ‘Mr. Trump,’ understand that they are subtly disrespecting the President.
On January 10th, Breitbart reported:
Justice Juan Merchan sentenced President-elect Donald Trump to an unconditional discharge in the Manhattan business records case on Friday, which does not penalize him, though it upholds the jury’s felony conviction.
…Trump–who did not take the stand and was gagged from speaking about witnesses, including his disgraced former attorney Michael Cohen and adult film star Stormy Daniels, as well as counsel in the case other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg–addressed the court virtually from Mar-a-Lago.
“I assume I’m still under a gag order,” Trump said, per the New York Times’s Maggie Haberman. “But the fact is, I’m totally innocent.”
The article concludes:
He (President Trump) criticized prosecutor Matthew Colangelo, an ex-Biden official who joined Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, and Cohen, who he called a “totally discredited person,” per Haberman’s reporting from the courtroom.
Prosecutors in Bragg’s office had initially hoped to freeze sentencing for the duration of Trump’s term, which would have meant he could potentially be sentenced to prison time once he left office.
Trump’s legal team sought to have the case dismissed and the verdict vacated, citing the Presidential immunity doctrine, the Presidential Transition Act, and the Supremacy Clause, among a number of other arguments in a 72-page motion, which Merchan denied.
The case is People v. Trump, No. 71543/23, in the Supreme Court of New York County.
So what does this actually accomplish? It gives the self-righteous Democrats and RINO Republicans the ability to refer to President Trump as a convicted felon until the case is finally overturned by the Supreme Court (as in In the case of Bob McDonnell, who was convicted of a crime, but the conviction was overturned unanimously by the Supreme Court 9-0).
This case will eventually be seen as a blight on the American judicial system.