Fresh out of Barnard College with a degree in political science, Riley is learning the ropes as a writer and reporter for GZERO. When she isn’t writing about global politics, you can find her making GZERO’s crossword puzzles, conducting research on American politics, or persisting in her lifelong quest to learn French. Riley spends her time outside of work grilling, dancing, and wearing many hats (both literally and figuratively).
Trump appeared virtually from Florida for the sentencing, maintaining his innocence and calling the case a “political witch hunt.”
Which case was this one again? It centered on payments made to Daniels to prevent her from discussing an alleged sexual encounter with Trump before the 2016 election. Trump denies any encounter occurred and claims the payments were legitimate legal expenses.
Why was he given a no-punishment verdict? Judge Merchan explained that the immunity protections Trump will have once he becomes president in 10 days “is a factor that overrides all others,” though he emphasized that these protections “do not erase a jury verdict.”
Notably, this was the only one of Trump’s four criminal indictments to go to trial. The other cases, including federal prosecutions by special counsel Jack Smith and a Georgia election interference case, have either been closed or stalled following Trump's election victory.
