Judge sentences Trump to unconditional discharge, making him first US president to be a felon
The punishment for the 34 felony counts in the hush money case entails no prison or fines. While lenient, it does carry an unprecedented historical stigma just ahead of his return to the White House
It is both a very lenient and a very serious sentence. A New York judge on Friday sentenced Donald Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying invoices, checks and accounting records in order to conceal payments of $130,000 to the porn actress Stormy Daniels so that she would remain silent and not harm his chances in the 2016 presidential election. As expected, the sentence was an unconditional discharge: there is no prison, no probation, not even a fine. At the same time, it certifies his crimes. In a way, the judge condemns Trump to be the first criminal president of the USA.
