Subject: Re: Why didn't judge Merchan impose a fine?
If he did that, there's a good chance he loses the vote at the SCOTUS over whether he retains the power to sentence at all - which is probably why he announced ahead of time that this would be his sentence.

And why didn't Merchan just put the case on hold until Jan 20, 2029 when Trump becomes a private citizen again? Couldn't he then impose a sentence with an actual penalty? Or was the goal here to simply brand Trump a convicted felon for the optics of it, even if that entails giving up on a meaningful penalty? I'd also heard that posyponing the case would allow Trump's lawyers to have 4 years to come up with a way to get the case thrown out, but they're going to be doing that anyway, aren't they?