The judge in Donald Trump's New York criminal trial will not sentence the president-elect to prison and instead issue a sentence of an "unconditional discharge," which means there would be no punishment imposed, a move that will allow "those who hate him to tarnish him," says former jurist Andrew Napolitano to Newsmax.
"The judge has already intimated what the sentence will be, something that I've sentenced over a thousand people in my career," Napolitano told Newsmax's "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE."
"I never did this and never even heard of it. An unconditional discharge — fancy phrase for OK, you're guilty, you're free to go. No sentence imposed whatsoever.
"So that's basically what this judge is going to do. And he has said to the former and future president, you don't even have to come into the courtroom. This will allow those who hate him to tarnish him with 'you're a convicted felon,'" he added.
Trump earlier this year was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn actor Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.
Trump will file an appeal to the Appellate Division tonight, but "they'll deny it as well," said Napolitano.
"The whole system in New York is geared to bring this thing to a conclusion on Friday," he added.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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