>"This [Judge Juan Merchan's statement "that Trump’s sentence would be 'unconditional release.'"] sounds like no punishment at all but was in fact a 'masterstroke,' retired New York Judge George Grasso told me as we walked out of the courtroom."
>"By imposing no penalty, Merchan sharply increased the odds that Trump will be known as a felon for the rest of his life." >"One of the prosecutors, Josh Steinglass, told the judge that he favored the sentence because it will 'cement the defendant’s status as a convicted felon.'” >"It’s now a good bet that the first paragraph of Donald Trump’s obituary will include the stunning fact that this two-term American president was also a felon." ---------------------------------- By: Jonathan Alter Published in: *The New York Times* Date: January 10, 2025 A day after Jimmy Carter’s funeral, where Donald Trump had to hear about all the character traits he lacks, Mr. Trump wasn’t in the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse on Friday morning to hear his felony sentence pronounced. He appeared virtually from Mar-a-Lago in front of two American flags, along with his attorney (and choice for deputy attorney general) Todd Blanche. This peculiar reunion, seven months after Trump’s conviction for business fraud, contained little suspense. Justice Juan Merchan, who had presided with considerable patience and wisdom over the six-week trial, tipped his hand on Jan. 3 when he wrote that Trump’s sentence would be “unconditional release.” This sounds like no punishment at all but was in fact a “masterstroke,” retired New York Judge George Grasso told me as we walked out of the courtroom. The proof lies in the Supreme Court’s one-paragraph, 5-to-4 ruling, issued Thursday night, that “a brief virtual hearing” and a sentence of “unconditional discharge” left a “relatively insubstantial” burden of time on the president-elect. By imposing no penalty, Merchan sharply increased the odds that Trump will be known as a felon for the rest of his life. Trump was an older first-time offender, so jail was never likely, even if he had lost in November, and probation was unworkable once Trump was re-elected. A conditional discharge would have allowed the judge to impose community service or other punishment at a later date and require Trump to appear in court at any time, even if the president needed to handle legitimate matters of state. Merchan decided this was unreasonable under the supremacy clause of the Constitution, which gives federal law primacy over state law. He ruled that unconditional discharge was “the only lawful sentence” that avoided “encroaching on the highest office of the land.” One of the prosecutors, Josh Steinglass, told the judge that he favored the sentence because it will “cement the defendant’s status as a convicted felon.” Amid his slightly tamped-down bloviating, Trump strongly hinted to the court that he will try to prosecute the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, and will, of course, appeal his conviction. But most of the evidentiary issues are not likely to be reviewed by the Supreme Court, which is usually loath to erase jury verdicts. The best chance Trump has to expunge this stain on his reputation is to argue that some of the testimony referring to White House conversations fell under his “official duties.” It’s possible that Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote last July’s terrifying majority opinion in the immunity case, will include this under his concocted definition of “presumptive immunity” and clear Trump. But he (or Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the other swing vote in Thursday’s ruling) would have to ignore the 22 witnesses and 500 exhibits that provided a mountain of other evidence used by the jury to convict. Four knee-bending justices (including one, Samuel Alito, whose recent conversation with Trump further tarnished the court) are apparently happy to protect Trump from any legal accountability at all, even for acts that brought conviction while he was out of office. That means that preserving Merchan’s sentence will be a close shave. But it’s now a good bet that the first paragraph of Donald Trump’s obituary will include the stunning fact that this two-term American president was also a felon.
