At sentencing, Trump lied and got less than a slap on the wrist

President-elect Donald Trump’s sentencing hearing Friday in his business records falsification case was one for the history books. It ended not with a bang, but a whimper.

Trump knew in advance of the hearing that Judge Juan Merchan was not going to impose any penalty at all. It was this factor that influenced five justices of the Supreme Court to allow the sentencing to proceed. In its brief order, the court noted that “the alleged evidentiary violations ... can be addressed in the...