Judge sentences Trump in hush money case but declines to impose any punishment

It was a case that for the first time put a former president and major presidential candidate in a courtroom as a criminal defendant

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Published Jan 10, 2025  •  7 minute read

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump appears remotely for a sentencing hearing in front of New York State Judge Juan Merchan at Manhattan Criminal Court on January 10, 2025 in New York City. Photo by Pool /Getty Images

President-elect Donald Trump was formally sentenced Friday in his hush money case, but the judge declined to impose any punishment. The outcome cements Trump’s conviction while freeing him to return to the White House unencumbered by the threat of a jail term or a fine.

Here’s the latest:

The punishment-free judgement marks a quiet end to an extraordinary case

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It was a case that for the first time put a former president and major presidential candidate in a courtroom as a criminal defendant. The case was the only one of four criminal indictments that has gone to trial and possibly the only one that ever will.

Trump calls the sentencing a ‘despicable event’ on Truth Social

“Today’s event was a despicable charade, and now that it is over, we will appeal this Hoax, which has no merit, and restore the trust of Americans in our once great System of Justice,” he wrote in a lengthy post on his social media platform after the sentencing.

Outside the courthouse after the sentencing

Following the historic sentencing, the mood outside the courthouse is festive, with a few dozen Trump supporters waving American flags and signs emblazoned with the president-elect’s face.

Some described the scene as a reunion of sorts, a chance to catch up with others who’d attended demonstrations during the trial while celebrating both the election victory and the outcome of the case.

“No penalty at all is great news,” said Jerry Gasowski, a retired power plant worker who drove into the city from Long Island. “It’s great news for our country.”

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Trump’s demeanour as the sentence was handed down

As Judge Merchan delivered the sentence, Trump sat upright, lips pursed, frowning slightly. He tilted his head to the side as the judge wished him “godspeed in your second term in office.”

Judge sentences Trump in hush money case but declines to impose any punishment

President-elect Donald Trump was formally sentenced Friday in his hush money case, but the judge declined to impose any punishment. The outcome cements Trump’s conviction while freeing him to return to the White House unencumbered by the threat of a jail term or a fine.

Trump’s sentence of an unconditional discharge caps a norm-smashing case that saw the former and future president charged with 34 felonies, put on trial for almost two months and convicted on every count. Yet, the legal detour — and sordid details aired in court of a plot to bury affair allegations — didn’t hurt him with voters, who elected him to a second term.

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Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan could have sentenced the 78-year-old Republican to up to four years in prison. Instead, he chose a sentence that sidestepped thorny constitutional issues by effectively ending the case but assured that Trump will become the first person convicted of a felony to assume the presidency.

Joshua Steinglass, a prosecutor in the Donald Trump hush money case leaves Manhattan Criminal Court on January 10, 2025 in New York City. The US Supreme Court rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s last-minute bid to halt his sentencing in the criminal hush-money case. Photo by Adam Gray /Getty Images

Judge Merchan begins speaking

Merchan says a judge must consider the facts of the case as well as aggravating and mitigating circumstances.

“Never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances,” he said.

Trump says: ‘I’m totally innocent. I did nothing wrong’

He argued that voters saw what happened in this courtroom and, like him, thought it was a disgrace and supported him overwhelmingly in the election.

Addressing the court, Trump says there was no crime

“It’s been a political witch hunt,” he said. “It was done to damage my reputation so that I would lose the election, and obviously, that didn’t work.”

Trump speaks in court

“This has been a very terrible experience. I think it has been a tremendous set back for New York and the New York court system,” he said.

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Trump lawyer Todd Blanche begins speaking with Trump by his side

“I very, very much disagree with much of what the government just said about this case, about the legitimacy of what happened in this courtroom during this trial, and about President Trump’s conduct fighting this case,” Blanche said.

Steinglass notes Trump’s contempt findings in this case and others

“As this court has noted, the defendant’s conduct constitutes a ‘direct attack on the rule of law itself,”‘ Steinglass said.

He also noted Trump’s threats to retaliate against people who have wronged him in his legal matters, which Steinglass said is intended to have a chilling effect.

Steinglass said the author of the pre-sentence report, a probation officer who interviewed Trump, notes Trump sees himself as above the law.

Despite all that, Steinglass said an unconditional discharge is the “most practical sentence prior to his inauguration.”

Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass begins speaking on behalf of the prosecution

He notes the conviction and reviews the sentencing options include up to four years in prison, but other remedies as well.

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Steinglass says the prosecution recommends unconditional discharge based on circumstances including Trump’s impending return to the White House.

Steinglass says prosecutors are OK with the potential no-penalty sentence. He cites “all the circumstances of this case, its unique posture and the defendant’s status as president-elect.”

“The verdict in this case was unanimous and decisive and it must be respected,” he said.

As prosecutors began their remarks, Trump shook his head, eyes darting around the screen. The camera view is framed tightly on him and Blanche, offering courtroom spectators a much closer view of Trump’s expression than during the trial.

Outside the courthouse ahead of the sentencing

A handful of protesters had gathered in front of the Manhattan federal courthouse Friday morning.

Some carried signs reading “DESERVES THE MAXIMUM SENTENCE” and “34 FELONY CONVICTIONS.”

Meanwhile, at a park across the street, supporters unfurled a massive flag reading “TRUMP WON.”

Supporters of US President-elect Donald Trump wave flags during his sentencing over cover-up of hush-money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels at the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on January 10, 2025. Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU /AFP via Getty Images

Why did Judge Merchan decide to go ahead with Trump’s sentencing?

In an 18-page legal opinion, Merchan laid out his reasoning for ruling that the president-elect should be sentenced later this month for the crime of falsifying business records.

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His most important finding was that Trump’s conviction should not be thrown out simply because he was elected president.

But the judge also signaled that he intended to impose a sentence of “unconditional discharge,” which means Trump would not face any punishment beyond having the conviction on his legal record.

The scene inside the courtroom before sentencing

Four big TV screens are mounted on the walls: one on either side of the bench where the judge will sit and one each hanging from the left and right side, parallel with the tables where the defense and prosecution will sit.

Another large monitor sits behind next to the defense table, visible to the judge’s bench. A crew from ABC News, which will be distributing an audio recording of the proceeding after it ends, was testing the microphone system. At one point, instead of the usual counting up or down to check levels, one member of the crew started reciting the first few words of the Declaration of Independence _ “When in the Course of human events” — drawing chuckles from the crowd of reporters and spectators in the gallery.

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Who testified, and what did they say?

Trump’s trial stretched over seven weeks, with 22 witnesses testifying, including porn actor Stormy Daniels, Trump’s fixer turned foe Michael Cohen, former supermarket tabloid publisher David Pecker and White House insiders.

Prosecutors called 20 witnesses. The defense called just two. Trump decided not to testify on his own behalf. Here’s a look back at what some of the key witnesses had to say.

Stormy Daniels leaves the courthouse after testifying at former U.S. President Donald Trump’s trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs, in New York City, on May 9, 2024. Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images

What was this case about?

Trump was convicted last May of 34 counts of falsifying business records, making him the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes.

The jury found that he falsified records kept by his company to hide the purpose of reimbursements to his then-lawyer Michael Cohen, who had made a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 campaign to silence her claim of an extramarital sexual encounter. Trump denies they had sex.

What happened to Trump’s other cases?

The hush money case was the only one of Trump’s four criminal indictments to go to trial.

Since his Nov. 5 election, special counsel Jack Smith ended his two federal cases. One pertained to Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss; the other alleged he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

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A separate, state-level election interference case in Georgia is in limbo after an appeals court removed prosecutor Fani Willis from the case.

A look at the judge who is sentencing Trump

Judge Juan M. Merchan has presided over Manhattan felony cases since 2009, after three years in family court. Before that, he was a Manhattan prosecutor and a lawyer for New York state.

Trump has pointed to factors including Merchan’s total of $35 in 2020 donations to Democrats — including President Joe Biden — to argue that the judge is biased and should step away from the case.

A state court ethics panel opined in 2023 that Merchan could continue handling the case, and he avowed that he could be fair and impartial. Read more about Merchan, who also oversees Manhattan’s Mental Health Court.

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