Donald Trump sentenced to 'unconditional discharge' in hush money case: Here's what it means

US President-elect Donald Trump

US President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced in the hush money case an unconditional discharge, sparing jail time, days before his January 20 inauguration.

On January 10, Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan sentenced the 78-year-old Republican leader to unconditional discharge in the hush money case that pertains to  hush money payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Trump was the first US President-elect to become convicted in a criminal case.

What is unconditional discharge?

Unconditional discharge is like a a non-punishment,  a way that New York courts can acknowledge someone's conviction as valid while simultaneously releasing them "without imprisonment, fine or probation supervision."

Judges are required by New York law to provide reasoning for their decision if they choose to go that route.

Why did Judge Merchan chose this?

Judge Merchan revealed during the sentencing that he did not intend to put the president-elect behind bars. He said, "unconditional discharge appears to be the most viable option to ensure finality and allow Defendant to pursue his appellate options."

Considering Trump's inauguration and reported speculation that a sitting president's sentence would need to be paused during their time in office anyway, Judge Merchan chose unconditional discharge.

What is the case about?

Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying his business’ records. They pertained to a USD 130,000 payment, made through his former personal lawyer in 2016, to keep porn actor Stormy Daniels from publicizing her story of having had sex with Trump a decade earlier. He denies her claim and says he’s done nothing wrong.

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