RT-Engels: 10-01-2025,
The US president-elect has been declared a convicted felon in his “hush money” case
US President-elect Donald Trump has been sentenced in his “hush money” criminal case in New York, just ten days before he is scheduled to take office.
The US Supreme Court on Thursday denied Trump’s motion to stop the proceedings, citing their own ruling about presidential immunity, clearing the way for Judge Juan Merchan to hold the virtual hearing on Friday.
“Unconditional discharge has been affirmed as appropriate. I impose it,” Merchan announced on Friday, agreeing with the prosecutors’ request.
“This creates the status of convicted felon, as he appeals,” the prosecutors argued during the virtual session.
“I am innocent of all of the Judge’s made up, fake charges,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday. “This was nothing other than Weaponization of our Justice System against a Political Opponent. It’s called Lawfare, and nothing like this has ever happened in the United States of America, and it should never be allowed to happen again.”
Trump was charged in 2023 with misreporting “hush money” payments made to adult actress Stormy Daniels in 2017, with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg successfully elevating what would normally be a misdemeanor offense into 34 felony counts, one for each mention of the payments in Trump’s records. He was found guilty on all counts in May.