In a highly publicized legal case, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized the verdict in his hush money trial, describing the proceedings as a “despicable charade” and accusing his political opponents of engaging in a partisan “witch hunt.” Justice Juan Merchan issued an unconditional discharge to Trump following a jury conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. The charges stemmed from alleged efforts to conceal a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Taking to his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump expressed his intent to appeal the verdict. “Today’s event was a despicable charade, and now that it is over, we will appeal this hoax, which has no merit, and restore the trust of Americans in our once-great system of justice,” he said.
Trump accused the Democrats of orchestrating what he called an “un-American witch hunt,” emphasizing that his unconditional discharge demonstrated the weakness of the case. “I was given an unconditional discharge. That result alone proves, as all legal scholars and experts have said, there is no case, there was never a case, and this whole scam fully deserves to be dismissed,” he asserted.
He further claimed that the American people had already rendered their verdict by re-electing him with a strong mandate to serve a second term. “As the American people have seen, this ‘case’ had no crime, no damages, no proof, no facts, no law—only a highly conflicted judge, a star witness who is a disbarred, disgraced, serial perjurer, and criminal election interference,” Trump said.
Justice Merchan, while delivering his decision, underscored that Trump’s political success did not mitigate the gravity of the charges. “The protections [of the presidency] are, however, a legal mandate which, pursuant to the rule of law, this court must respect and follow. However, despite the extraordinary breadth of those protections, one power they do not provide is the power to erase a jury verdict,” the judge stated.
Background of the Hush Money Case
The case centers on allegations that Trump orchestrated a payment to Stormy Daniels to prevent her from disclosing an alleged sexual encounter in 2006. Prosecutors contended that Trump falsified business records to conceal the payment, made during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump’s legal team argued for the case’s dismissal, citing a Supreme Court ruling affirming broad immunity for former presidents concerning official acts.
The hush money case is one of several legal challenges Trump faces. Federal prosecutors had previously dropped investigations into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and his handling of classified documents after leaving office, citing Justice Department policies. Meanwhile, Trump also faces racketeering charges in Georgia related to alleged attempts to interfere with the 2020 election, though proceedings in that case are expected to pause during his presidency.
Trump’s inauguration is set for January 20, marking the beginning of his second term as president.
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