‘A political witch hunt’: Trump’s unhinged rant addresses hush money trial verdict

Judge Juan Merchan finally put President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money case to a close. Despite the judge’s lenient sentencing, Trump claimed to be victimized by the court system.

Before he was sentenced, Trump was allowed to address the court regarding any concerns he had. “This has been a very terrible experience. I think it’s a tremendous setback for New York and the New York court system.” Trump added that this case was merely an injustice brought upon him by Democrats and District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Trump insisted that he was innocent. He continued, “It’s been a political witch hunt. It was done to damage my reputation so that I’d lose the election. Obviously, that didn’t work.” The president-elect was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Nevertheless, Trump and his MAGA followers hold out on the belief that Trump was being unfairly tried for a crime he did not commit.

A slap on the wrist

Although Trump was guilty, Merchan decided to give Trump an “unconditional discharge.” The president-elect will not serve time in prison or be paying fines in relation to the crime he committed. Merchan justified his decision upon sentencing. He stated, “To be clear, the protections afforded by the Office of the President are not a mitigating factor.” This is why Trump was still sentenced for his felonies. He isn’t immune from civil and criminal liability as a regular citizen.

“It is the Office of the President that bestows those far-reaching protections to the officeholder. And it was the citizenry of this nation that recently decided that you should once again receive the benefits of those protections, which include, among other things, the supremacy clause and the presidential immunity. It is through that lens and that reality that this court must determine a lawful sentence.” Essentially, Merchan’s court still factored in Trump’s win in deciding the penalty.

This decision wasn’t met with praise online. There’s no doubt that Merchan followed the rules of court, but the sentence will not hold Trump accountable. The president-elect’s statement alone expressed that he is unrepentant, despite having received a guilty verdict. Instead, Trump is to be the first US president in history to be convicted of a felony.