Donald Trump's Hush Money Sentencing in New York

WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

The Wall Street Journal

Society & Culture, News

4.2 • 2.8K Ratings

🗓️ 10 January 2025

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

With the president-elect about to take office, Judge Juan Merchan says a sentence of "unconditional discharge," meaning no penalties for a jury conviction on 34 felonies, is the only option that won't interfere with Trump's official duties. The Supreme Court split 5-4 on letting the sentencing go forward, but could it help Trump in the end, if it permits his appeals on the merits to proceed? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Okay, business leaders, are you here to play or are you playing to win?
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0:13.4	NetSuite.com slash Wall Street.
0:17.9	From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Potomac Watch.
0:23.8	After an unsuccessful appeal to the Supreme Court this week, President-elect Donald Trump
0:28.8	is sentenced in the New York Hush Money criminal case, but with no penalty for his conviction
0:33.8	last year on 34 felonies and with his appeals now about to begin.
0:39.7	Welcome, I'm Kyle Peterson with the Wall Street Journal.
0:43.0	We're joined today by my colleagues, columnist Bill McGern and editorial board member Colin Levy.
0:49.1	The word unprecedented has gotten a workout in the Trump years, but no stopping now,
0:53.1	as the president-elect of the United
0:54.7	States on Friday, 10 days before his second inauguration, was made to dial into a sentencing
1:00.4	hearing in New York State. This was the criminal case brought by Manhattan District Attorney
1:06.3	Elvin Bragg, accusing Trump of falsifying business records in the run-up to the 2016 election with
1:12.3	respect to the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. The jury last May found Trump guilty,
1:18.6	but sentencing was put on hold after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
1:24.1	Then it was put on hold so as not to affect or be seen to affect the presidential election.
1:29.1	Last year's trial was not streamed, but the 30-minute sentencing hearing on Friday was.
1:33.4	So this might be the first time listeners have gotten a chance to hear at least two of these voices.
1:37.7	Let's start with the prosecution, which went first.
	...

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