Trump becomes first U.S. president sentenced as a felon
LA TimesPresident-elect Donald Trump appears remotely with his attorney Todd Blanche for his sentencing in a New York court on Friday. One group held a banner that read, “Trump is guilty.” The other held one that said, “Stop partisan conspiracy” and “Stop political witch hunt.” The case saw the former and future president charged with 34 felonies, put on trial for almost two months and convicted by a jury on every count. Rather than show remorse, Trump has “bred disdain” for the jury verdict and the criminal justice system, Steinglass said, and his calls for retaliation against those involved in the case, including calling for the judge to be disbarred, “has caused enduring damage to public perception of the criminal justice system and has put officers of the court in harm’s way.” The specific charges in the hush money case related to fraudulent checks and ledgers, and the underlying accusations were seamy and deeply entangled with Trump’s political rise. Alvin Bragg’s office, which brought the charges, said in a court filing Monday that Trump committed “serious offenses that caused extensive harm to the sanctity of the electoral process and to the integrity of New York’s financial marketplace.” Prosecutors said Daniels was paid off — through Trump’s personal attorney at the time, Michael Cohen — as part of a wider effort to keep voters from hearing about Trump’s alleged extramarital escapades. But last week, he set Friday’s date, citing a need for “finality.” He wrote that he strove to balance Trump’s need to govern, the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, the respect due a jury verdict and the public’s expectation that “no one is above the law.” Trump’s lawyers then launched a flurry of last-minute efforts to block the sentencing.