Donald Trump acquitted in New York criminal trial, as judge wishes him ‘Godspeed’ for 2nd term

President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced to parole Friday after being found guilty on charges of falsifying business records stemming from a years-long investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The president-elect attended his sentencing almost immediately, after fighting to block the plan all the way to the United States Supreme Court this week. Trump is sitting next to his attorney Todd Blanche.

TRUMP FILES TO STAY ‘ILLEGAL JURISDICTION’ IN NEW YORK TRIAL

Trump called the case and his sentence “a major setback for the American court system.”

“This is a huge disgrace to the state of New York,” Trump said, adding that people saw the trial firsthand, and voted “definitely” to elect him president.

Judge Juan Merchan put Jan. 10—just ten days before he was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States.

Merchan did not sentence the president-elect to prison, instead he sentenced him to unconditional release, which means no punishment is imposed—no jail time, fines or probation. The sentence also preserves Trump’s ability to appeal.

“After careful consideration, this court issued the only legal sentence that allows a person to be acquitted without conditions,” said Merchan on Friday. “For now, I’m setting that sentence to include all 34 counts.”

Merchan added: “Sir, I wish you Godspeed as you take up your second term in office.”

Merchan, during his sentencing hearing last week, said he would not “impose any sentence of imprisonment,” but there was a sentence of “unconditional release,” meaning no punishment would be imposed.

Trump filed a motion to block the sentence from moving forward with the New York State Court of Appeals. That court rejected his request.

Trump also filed an emergency petition with the US Supreme Court, saying it “issues an order to stay the proceedings in the Superior Court of New York County, New York.”

The high court denied the request, stating that “the request for a stay presented to Judge Sotomayor and that she be referred to the Court is denied, among other things, for the following reasons.”

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

TRUMP SAYS HE RESPECTS SUPREME COURT’S DECISION TO GRANT HIS REQUEST FOR VACATION, VOWS TO FILE AN APPEAL

“First, allegations of tampering with evidence in President-Elect Trump’s case can be handled through the normal appellate process,” the Supreme Court’s order said Thursday night. would limit the President-Elect’s responsibilities to a minimum compared to the trial court’s stated intent to impose a sentence of ‘unconditional release’ after a brief virtual hearing.”

The order also noted that “Justice Thomas, Justice Alito, Justice Gorsuch, and Justice Kavanaugh will grant this request.”

The Supreme Court of the United States poses for its official portrait in the East Conference Room of the Supreme Court building on Oct. 7, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Trump needed five votes for his request to be approved. A note in the order suggests that Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett voted with Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Katanji Brown Jackson.

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Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on Jan. 20.

Trump has maintained his innocence in the case and repeatedly criticized it as an example of “law enforcement” promoted by Democrats in an attempt to damage his election efforts before November.