Wisconsin State Journal: Judge Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Trump’s trial, signaled in a written decision that he’d sentence the former and future president to what’s known as an unconditional discharge, in which a case is closed without jail time, a fine or probation.
Merchan wrote that he sought to balance competing interests: Trump’s ability to govern “unencumbered” by the case, the U.S. Supreme Court’s July ruling on presidential immunity, the public’s expectation “that all are equal and no one is above the law,” and the importance of respecting a jury verdict.