Donald Trump will officially be a felon when he is sentenced on January 10, 2025, in a Manhattan courtroom. He was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsified business records on May 30, 2024. Trump has been ordered to appear at the sentencing, though he may be allowed to appear via video teleconferencing.
The President-elect was never expected to receive jail time for his crimes. In New York, most people convicted for these types of infractions end up paying fines, though Trump may be an exception. Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Trump’s trial, signaled in a written decision that he’d sentence the former and future president to what’s known as an unconditional discharge, in which a conviction stands, but the case is closed without jail time, a fine or probation.
One might ask, what is the point of going through the trial if the end result was no punishment? Judge Merchan in his 18-page statement suggests this sentencing will provide finality and demonstrate to the American people that no one man is above the law. I submit that a sentencing containing no punishment does exactly the opposite. It proves there is no justice and that some men can get away with anything. Even though he was never expected to be jailed for falsified business records, Trump’s antics in the courtroom, leading to ten findings of contempt of court, would have seen any other defendant jailed, if even for a brief period.
Trump’s legal team continues to argue that this sentencing will somehow curtail Trump’s ability to conduct his presidential duties. Trump argued in part, that the decision by the voters who elected him should override that of the jury who found he broke the law.
Merchan responded:
“Here, 12 jurors unanimously found Defendant guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records with the intent to defraud, which included an intent to commit or conceal a conspiracy to promote a presidential election by unlawful means. It was the premeditated and continuous deception by the leader of the free world that is the gravamen of this offense.
To vacate this verdict on the grounds that the charges are insufficiently serious given the position Defendant once held, and is about to assume again, would constitute a disproportionate result and cause immeasurable damage to the citizenry’s confidence in the Rule of Law.”
Newsflash! The citizenry’s confidence in the Rule of Law has long been shattered. When Nixon committed crimes, he was given a pardon, while those below him went to jail. Bill Clinton committed perjury and was disbarred from practicing law in Arkansas, where he never would have anyway, and fined $25,000. That amount rings familiar as it’s the same amount Donald Trump contributed to his nominee for Attorney General Pam Bondi to keep Florida out of a lawsuit against the fraudulent Trump University. Gym Jordan ignored the molestation of children and went uninvestigated. Matt Gaetz trafficked women and used illegal drugs. Donald Trump sexually assaulted a woman.
No federal charges will be pursued against Trump despite clear evidence he obstructed justice, not to mention tried to overturn the results of an election. People have died as a result of Trump’s call to action to come to the Capitol. “It’ll be wild!” And for all of this, he will receive no punishment. State charges in Georgia are unlikely to go forward as the case has been removed from the one office in Georgia that is likely to pursue the case.
If Trump is unsuccessful in delaying the sentencing until after his inauguration on January 20, 2025, and then claims he’s unavailable due to his presidential duties, there will be those who offer his sentencing as proof that our system of justice works. I call bullshit.
This article originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium.