At his campaign rallies last year, Donald Trump would sometimes gaze up at the heavens and wonder what his late mother and father would have thought of their son standing trial as an accused criminal.
Given that Trump’s father, Fred, was a ruthless businessman who told his sons “you are a killer” and “you are a king”, the old man was probably looking down on Friday gratified that Donald had essentially got away with it – again.
A judge in New York sentenced the US president-elect to an unconditional discharge for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush-money payment to an adult film performer during the 2016 election.
“This court has determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of a judgment of conviction without encroaching upon the highest office in the land is an unconditional discharge,” Judge Juan Merchan explained.
Related: Trump avoids punishment for hush-money conviction and calls case ‘terrible experience’
Legal experts hailed the decision as a victory for the rule of law. It cemented the fact that Trump will enter office 10 days from now as the first US president convicted of a crime. The 78-year-old must carry that stigma for the rest of his life.
But in the eyes of the average voter, Trump got off scot-free. No fine. No jail time. In soccer terms, Friday’s sentencing was like a consolation goal in the final minutes when most fans have left the stadium and Trump’s name is already being inscribed on the trophy.
While prison would have been very rare for a first-time offender in such a case, so too is an unconditional discharge. Most people in Trump’s shoes would, if not pay a fine, at least be expected to regularly check in with a probation officer and submit to drug and alcohol testing.
But Trump received special treatment throughout. He had been a badly behaved defendant who hurled insults at the judge and judicial system throughout the process but went unpunished.
Merchan had indicated in advance that Trump would not face jail time because it was not “practicable” given his imminent return to the White House. The supreme court said this “stated intent” was crucial in its 5-4 decision on Thursday to allow the sentencing to go ahead.
Even then, Trump was allowed to appear virtually from his Florida home – “the fact is I’m totally innocent. I did nothing wrong,” he protested – rather than face the symbolic humiliation of one last day in court. He also intends to appeal.
Step back and consider the big picture. A year ago Trump faced four criminal cases. He was convicted in only one of them, widely seen as the least consequential, and received a no-penalty sentence, a slap on the wrist. He is about to be sworn in as the most powerful man in the world. Merchan concluded the hearing by telling him: “Sir, I wish you godspeed as you assume your second term in office.”
A portion of the blame lies with the man he will replace, Joe Biden. The current president’s decision to appoint Merrick Garland as attorney general proved a fatal mistake. Garland was far too cautious in prosecuting Trump over his role in the January 6 2021 insurrection and mishandling of classified documents.
Charlie Sykes, an author and broadcaster, wrote on the Atlantic’s website that Biden “misread the trajectory of Trumpism. Like so many others, he thought that the problem of Trump had taken care of itself and that his election meant a return to normalcy. So he chose as his attorney general Merrick Garland, who seems to have seen his role as restoring the Department of Justice rather than pursuing accountability for the man who’d tried to overturn the election.”
After Hamlet-like procrastination, Garland appointed the special counsel, Jack Smith, to oversee the cases in November 2022 – almost the midway point of the Biden presidency. Smith duly brought indictments but it was too little too late and two federal cases have been dropped.
Imagine if the roles had been reversed. Trump would have appointed a firebrand special counsel to aggressively pursue the cases from day one. Not for the first time, Democrats played by a quaint set of rules even as Republicans were tearing up the rulebook.
Trump understood during last year’s election campaign that the White House would be his get-out-of-jail card. Most parents like to instruct their children that honesty is the best policy and crime does not pay. Trump, however, continues to act with impunity in his own inverted fairytale.