据新华社报道，美国纽约州最高法院法官胡安·梅尔尚10日就美国候任总统特朗普所涉“封口费”案作出判决，宣布特朗普为重罪犯，但予以无条件释放。根据判决，特朗普免于入狱，也没有受到罚款或缓行处罚。
梅尔尚3日在宣布该案宣判日期时表示，考虑到总统豁免权及其他现实情况后，要确保了结此案并给被告留出上诉选项，作出无条件释放判决看起来是最可行的解决方案。
Juan Merchan, a New York judge overseeing US President-elect Donald Trump's hush money case, on Friday granted Trump unconditional discharge in delivering a sentence for the case.
Trump would face no fine or probation supervision, according to the sentencing.Still, the sentencing formally made Trump a convicted felon depending on the result of his appeals in the future.The "considerable, indeed extraordinary" legal protections afforded the office of the presidency is a factor that overrides all others, said Merchan.
▲ Source: REUTERSHowever, "They do not reduce the seriousness of the crime or justify its commission in any way," Merchan said."The imposition of sentence is one of the most difficult and significant decisions that any criminal court judge is called upon to make," added Merchan.New York prosecutor Joshua Steinglass recommended a sentence of unconditional discharge given the defendant's status as president-elect.Trump is scheduled to be inaugurated as the 47th US president on Jan 20.A sentence of unconditional discharge preserves Trump's status as a convicted felon while he pursues his appeals, Steinglass added.Trump contended his innocence at his sentencing hearing, saying that "the fact is I'm totally innocent. I did nothing wrong.""Today's event was a despicable charade" and we will appeal the "hoax", said Trump on social media shortly after the sentencing hearing.Trump's attempt to halt the sentencing was denied at the US Supreme Court on Thursday.Earlier, Trump's motions to halt the sentencing at the New York State Supreme Court in New York County, Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department as well as New York State Court of Appeals, were all refused.In May 2024, a jury in New York found Trump guilty of all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a bid to hide hush money payments to a porn star in 2016 and the initial date of sentencing was July 11, 2024.
