Donald Trump convicted in hush money trial

Donald Trump tried to prevent it until the last moment. But now it’s finally here, the verdict in the New York hush money trial. There is good news and bad news for the man who will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States in ten days.

He received no punishment in the trial over a hush money payment to a porn actress. The responsible court announced on Friday that the conviction was an “unconditional discharge” – without imprisonment, a fine or probation. A jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records in connection with payments to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. He always denied this. It was the first time that a former or current US president was convicted as a criminal.

As expected, the sentence is lenient. It was foreseeable that the Republican party patriarch would get away with a black eye. Judge Juan Merchan had already promised “unconditional immunity from prosecution”. That is “the most viable option”.

Nevertheless, Trump is and remains a convicted criminal. The first of his kind to move into the White House.

The day before, the Supreme Court in Washington had rejected an urgent request from Trump’s lawyers, who had wanted to postpone the verdict for a third time.

Trump did thank the Supreme Court, on which he had appointed three conservative judges, for their “time and effort.” However, the fact that the verdict would be announced as planned and that his guilt would be established was a bitter defeat for the Republican. The New York ruling has little impact on his second term in office. The Supreme Court also found that it was “relatively irrelevant”.

The trial concerned the payment of $130,000 in hush money that Trump gave to porn actress Stormy Daniels. Daniels, civil .

Out-of-court settlement payments are legal and common in the USA – but they are by no means covered up. The court was convinced that Trump did this with the aim of gaining advantages in the 2016 election campaign.

Jurors found Trump guilty of 34 counts at the end of May 2024. It was the first time in United States history that a former president was convicted of a crime.