Washington, Jan 11: Donald Trump today became the first felon in the White House after a US court upheld his conviction in a hush money case. He has been sentenced to an ‘unconditional discharge’ for covering up unaccounted payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
This means that the President-elect has been found guilty of his charges, but will not face any jail time or penalty because he has been elected President of the United States and will take oath to the country’s highest office on January 20 – a post that brings with itself an impunity of being above the law while in office and beyond.
And so, though the 34 counts of Donald Trump falsifying business records on which he was convicted in May 2024 carried potential jail time, the judge could do little about it, ending up having to spare the President-elect. Should he not have been the president, Donald Trump would have been jailed for a term of four years. Instead he will now return to the White House as President for another four.