Donald Trump Slams Unconditional Discharge in Hush Money Case: ‘Despicable Charade, No Merit’

Hush Money Case: US President Donald Trump was sentenced to no-punishment or 'unconditional discharge' in his historic hush money case. Trump hailed the verdict while calling the charges against him "baseless, illegal, and fake."

His remarks come after Justice Juan Merchan imposed an "unconditional discharge" sentence following Trump's conviction on 34 charges of business fraud related to a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.

In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump dismissed the case, stating, "Today’s event was a despicable charade, and now that it is over, we will appeal this Hoax, which has no merit, and restore the trust of Americans in our once great System of Justice."

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He added that the charges against him were “completely baseless, illegal, and fake” and alleged that his unconditional discharge proved that there was not a legitimate case against him.

“That result alone proves that, as all Legal Scholars and Experts have said, THERE IS NO CASE, THERE WAS NEVER A CASE, and this whole Scam fully deserves to be DISMISSED,” he said.

As he delivered the sentenced, Merchan emphasised that Trump’s victory in the presidential race did not “reduce the seriousness of the crime or justify its commission in any way,” even though it had to be taken into account.

“The protections [of the presidency] are, however, a legal mandate which, pursuant to the rule of law, this court must respect and follow. However, despite the extraordinary breadth of those protections, one power they do not provide is the power to erase a jury verdict,” Merchan said.

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“It was the citizenry of this nation that recently decided that once again you should have the benefits of those protections which include, among other things, the supremacy clause and presidential immunity. It is through that lens and that reality that this court must determine a lawful sentence.”

Merchan, who was subject to intense criticism and threats as he oversaw Trump’s case, then told the president-elect: “Sir, I wish you godspeed as you assume your second term in office.”

The case, which has been ongoing since 2016 was regarding a purported $1,30,000 payment made by Trump to an adult-film star during his first presidential campaign to prevent her from going public with allegations that they had an affair a decade earlier.

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