
The first US president with a felony conviction given unconditional discharge
Erin Bradbury - 20 January 2025
Marking a pivotal moment in history, Donald Trump will become the first US president to take office with a felony criminal conviction. The high-profile high money trial centered on allegations that, during the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump paid $130,000 through his attorney to an adult film star to stop them from speaking out about the alleged affair. Then, following the election, he reimbursed the attorney by falsely recording the payments as legal expenses. In May last year, a jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, each of which carried a potential sentence of four years behind bars with a 20-year cap.
However, after multiple delays caused by Supreme Court rulings and the November president election, Trump’s sentencing took place earlier this month. Ultimately, he was granted 'unconditional discharge,' meaning he faces no fines, imprisonment or probation supervision. Despite the lack of punishment, the court ruling still means that president is a convicted felon. According to Judge Merchan, the court “determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of judgment of conviction without encroachment on the highest office of the land is a sentence of unconditional discharge.”
How is this possible? Well, under New York state law, such sentences can be handed down when a judge is “of the opinion that no proper purpose would be served by imposing any condition upon the defendant’s release.” As the lowest level felony, falsifying business records in the first degree is a category ‘E’ offence, and a review by the New York Times found that a third of defendants sentenced since 2014 with the most serious charge in Manhattan were handed less than a year of jail time. Meanwhile, others received over a year-long sentence, probation, fines, community service or unconditional discharge, but not unconditional discharge. However, that’s not to say that it’s unheard of; in New York, it has been used when sentencing low-level offences, such as speeding, submitting false timesheets, trespassing or criminal possession of a firearm.