Court Jesters

President Trump is a free man:

Judge Juan Merchan did not sentence the president-elect to prison, and instead sentenced him to an unconditional discharge, meaning there is no punishment imposed: no jail time, fines or probation. The sentence also preserves Trump's ability to appeal the conviction. "After careful analysis, this court determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of judgment of conviction is an unconditional discharge," Merchan said Friday. "At this time, I impose that sentence to cover all 34 counts." Merchan added, "Sir, I wish you Godspeed as you assume your second term in office." Before Judge Merchan announced the sentence, Trump called the case a "tremendous setback for the American court system." "This is a great embarrassment to the state of New York," Trump said, adding that the people saw the trial firsthand, and voted "decisively" to elect him as president. Trump said the Justice Department was "very involved" and stressed that a case like this against a former president, candidate and now president-elect has "never happened in our country before." "And I would just like to explain that I was treated very, very unfairly. And I thank you very much," Trump said Friday.

This is how lawfare dies...