Unconditional discharge: What Donald Trump's hush money sentencing really means

Carson Swick, The Baltimore Sun on Jan 10, 2025

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President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced Friday in relation to his Manhattan hush money case, cementing his legacy as America’s first convicted felon to assume the presidency.

The case involves Trump’s falsification of business records to pay porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged one-night stand between them in 2006. Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts related to the case last May, but still maintains his innocence and has characterized the case against him as politically motivated. The incoming president described his sentencing as a “despicable charade.”

Under New York law, Trump’s conviction is classified as a Class E felony offense, meaning could have been sentenced to up to four years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines for each individual felony count.

What is unconditional discharge?

Instead of jailing Trump, New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan sentenced him to “unconditional discharge,” which upholds the president-elect’s conviction but essentially ends the criminal case against him.

The judgment ensures Trump will be spared jail time, fines and probation —though he will face other restrictions on his constitutional rights that he has said he wants to appeal.

What rights has Trump lost with this sentencing?

As Trump’s Class E felony conviction was upheld, he is not permitted to buy a firearm in the state of New York. This judgement also applies to Trump’s adopted home state of Florida and several other states.

Trump still maintains some constitutional rights, such as being able to vote — which he did by casting a ballot for himself in Florida during the 2024 presidential election.

What other sentences could Trump have received?

Besides jail time, Merchan’s options were fairly open-ended and included sentencing Trump to home confinement, probation, and community service.

But by opting for unconditional discharge, Merchan acknowledged that Trump would not be able to perform his duties as president if saddled with such punishments and opted to steer the country away from a potential constitutional crisis.

“This court has determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of judgment of conviction without encroachment on the highest office of the land is a sentence of unconditional discharge,” Merchan said at Friday’s hearing, which Trump attended virtually after the Supreme Court narrowly declined to delay his sentencing on Thursday.

Will Trump still become president on Jan. 20?

Yes. Because the sentencing means he will not serve jail time, Trump is still on track to be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States at noon on Monday, Jan. 20.

What other cases are pending against Trump?

Multiple criminal cases remain outstanding against Trump, but are unlikely to go anywhere as he returns to power.

Following Trump’s victory, Special Counsel Jack Smith ended prosecution efforts in two cases related to Trump’s handling of classified documents — which climaxed with federal agents raiding Mar-a-Lago in August 2022.

Also following Trump’s victory, Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis was removed from the case related to his 2020 election interference case in the state — the case that led to his iconic Fulton County Jail mugshot in August 2023.

Some have also suggested that President Joe Biden or Trump’s eventual successor in the White House could pardon him to end the cases entirely, though presidential pardons only apply to federal cases.

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