New York, Jan 10: A local judge handed President-elect Donald Trump unconditional discharge in connection with his conviction in the hush money case, on Friday, 10 days before he is to enter the White House, but did not give him a prison term or other penalty.
Judge Juan Merchan gave Trump, who was appearing in the local court through a video link, an “unconditional discharge” which confirms his conviction without consequences after the Supreme Court refused to intervene.
Trump will be the first President who enters office with a criminal record.
It was a pyrrhic victory for the local prosecutor, Alvin Bragg, who was elected as a Democratic Party candidate, and Vice President Kamala Harris, who used the conviction as a propaganda point, because 1.77 million American voters repudiated them and elected Trump as President.
Trump, who spoke at the sentencing from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida through a video link, said, “This is a great embarrassment to the state of New York”.
