“We will appeal this Hoax, which has no merit, and restore the trust of Americans in our once great System of Justice.”
Shortly after Judge Juan Merchan imposed an “unconditional discharge” sentence on Donald Trump on Friday, Trump criticized Democrats for what he called a “pathetic, unAmerican Witch Hunt.”
While the unconditional discharge carries no additional punishments, it solidifies Trump’s status as a felon just days before he is sworn in for his second term in the White House. Before delivering the sentence, Judge Merchan remarked on the “unique and remarkable set of circumstances” surrounding the case, noting that Trump avoided a prison sentence only because the office of president shields him.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that the unconditional discharge “proves that, as all Legal Scholars and Experts have said, THERE IS NO CASE, THERE WAS NEVER A CASE.”
“The Radical Democrats have lost another pathetic, unAmerican Witch Hunt,” Trump wrote. “After spending tens of millions of dollars, wasting over six years on obsessive efforts that should have been spent on protecting New Yorkers from violent, rampant crime that is destroying the City and State, coordinating with the Biden/Harris Department of Injustice in lawless Weaponization, and bringing completely baseless, illegal, and fake charges against your 45th and 47th President, ME, I was given an UNCONDITIONAL DISCHARGE.”
Trump also claimed that “this whole Scam fully deserves to be DISMISSED” and pledged to appeal the case.
“The real Jury, the American People, have spoken, by Re-Electing me with an overwhelming MANDATE in one of the most consequential Elections in History,” he continued. “As the American People have seen, this ‘case’ had no crime, no damages, no proof, no facts, no Law, only a highly conflicted Judge, a star witness who is a disbarred, disgraced, serial perjurer, and criminal Election Interference.”
The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision on Thursday, denied Trump’s request to delay the sentencing hearing. The court’s majority did not rule on the merits of Trump’s argument but stated that the issue could be addressed on appeal. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court’s three liberal justices in rejecting the request.
With Judge Merchan’s sentence officially imposed, Trump will enter the White House as the first president in U.S. history convicted of a felony.
