US President-elect Donald Trump appeared unfazed by his New York sentencing hearing on Friday as he casually played a round of golf. Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, the New York Post reports.
In exclusive photos released by The Post, Trump, wearing his signature “Trump was right about everything” hat, was seen driving around the course in a golf cart before Judge Joan Merchin handed down his sentence. A few hours after Manhattan Supreme Court.
The hearing follows Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts stemming from a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
In a six-minute video statement to the court from Mar-a-Lago, Trump said, “This is a case that should never have been brought. The fact is, I’m absolutely innocent, I’ve done nothing wrong. Merchan.” sentenced the former president to an “unconditional discharge” and wished him well as he prepares to enter his second term in office.
After the hearing, Trump went on Truth Social, where he dismissed the allegations as a politically motivated attack. “Radical Democrats have lost another pathetic, un-American witch hunt,” he wrote in a lengthy post.
The charges against Trump stem from his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to undermine the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors accused him of making illegal payments to Daniels, which were made through his then-lawyer. Michael Cohenand misclassifying it as legal expenses. While the crime carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison, Trump’s first-time conviction meant prison time was not possible.
Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, had earlier been called a politically motivated attack by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The conviction marks the end of a long legal battle, during which Trump’s efforts to dismiss the charges, citing Supreme Court rulings and claims of prosecutorial bias, have failed.
Trump was spotted on the same golf course where an AK-47-wielding assassin once camped near the sixth hole, aiming to shoot Trump during a round of golf.