“The protections afforded the office of the president are not a mitigating factor. They do no reduce the seriousness of the crime or justify its commission in any way.
"The protections are, however, a legal mandate which, pursuant to the rule of law, this court must respect and follow. However, despite the extraordinary breadth of those protections, one power they do not provide is the power to erase a jury verdict.
"It was the citizenry of this nation that recently decided that once again you should have the benefits of those protections which include, among other things, the supremacy clause and presidential immunity. It is through that lens and that reality that this court must determine a lawful sentence.
"This court has determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of judgment of conviction, without encroaching on the highest office of the land is unconditional discharge.
"Therefore, at this time, I impose that sentence to cover all 34 counts." -- Judge Juan Merchan, sentencing the MF at his felony fraud ("hush money for porn star") trial this morning in New York City. "Unconditional discharge" is a sentence that allows the jury's conviction of the MF on 34 felony counts to stand without further penalties.
I just finished listening to the 30-minute recording of the sentencing. Trump was a little subdued (compared to his usual antics) while he said his yada-yadas. I laughed aloud when Trump argued that "...Alan Dershowitz said this case should never have been brought." When you are reduced to citing Alan Underpants, Esq., your case is a tad shaky! 🤣
ReplyDeleteWhen you add in Trump's failure to make the special prosecutor report die in darkness, I'm feeling pretty good about accountability today! ✊️👏