Donald Trump has been given an unconditional discharge over hush money payments sent to porn star Stormy Daniels, avoiding jail before his inauguration later this month.
The president-elect was given a legal slap on the wrist after Judge Juan Merchan said it was the “only lawful sentence” he could impose due to Mr Trump’s impending second term as president.
There were, he said, a “unique and remarkable set of circumstances” surrounding Mr Trump’s 34-count conviction for falsifying business records and making “hush money” payments to Ms Daniels.
The sentence concludes a two-year legal battle, which Mr Trump has repeatedly called a politically motivated “witch hunt”. He has said he will appeal the sentence at the Supreme Court before taking office on Jan 20.
Mr Trump was permitted to appear in the Manhattan courtroom via video link on Friday from Mar-a-Lago, the epicentre of the MAGA campaign.
Inside the courtroom, Judge Merchan handed down the “no penalty” sentence after refusing to repeat the aggravating factors in Mr Trump’s case, including his frequent attacks on the court, prosecutors and judges.
No sooner had the hearing concluded did the soon-to-be 47th United States President turn to Truth Social to label the sentence a “despicable charade”.
He wrote: “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.
“I was given an unconditional discharge,” the president-elect added. “That result alone proves that, as all legal scholars and experts have said, there is no case, there was never a case, and this whole scam fully deserves to be dismissed.”
“The real jury, the American people, have spoken, by re-electing me with an overwhelming mandate in one of the most consequential elections in history.”
A conditional discharge would have required Mr Trump to meet certain conditions, like maintaining employment or paying restitution.
But today’s [FRI] sentence means he will not be subject to any conditions and concludes a case that saw the former and future president charged with 34 felonies, put on trial for almost two months and convicted by a jury on every count.
It means Mr Trump will become the first American president to take the White House as a convicted felon.
The hush money case accused Mr Trump of fudging his business’ records to veil a $130,000 payoff to porn actor Stormy Daniels.
She was paid, late in his 2016 campaign, not to tell the public about a sexual encounter she maintains the two had a decade earlier.
He says nothing sexual happened between them, and he contends that his political adversaries spun up a bogus prosecution to try to damage him.
Prosecutors said Mrs Daniels was paid off — through Trump’s personal attorney at the time, Michael Cohen — as part of a wider effort to keep voters from hearing about Trump’s alleged extramarital escapades.
Mr Trump denies the alleged encounters occurred. His lawyers said he wanted to squelch the stories to protect his family, not his campaign.
And while prosecutors said Mr Cohen’s reimbursements for paying Mrs Daniels were deceptively logged as legal expenses, Mr Trump claims that’s simply what they were.
His lawyers tried unsuccessfully to forestall a trial. Since his May conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records, they have pulled almost every legal lever within reach to try to get the conviction overturned, the case dismissed or at least the sentencing postponed.
Mr Trump was a private citizen and presidential candidate when Mrs Daniels was paid in 2016. He was president when the reimbursements to Mr Cohen were made and recorded the following year.
His defence argued that immunity should have kept jurors from hearing some evidence, such as testimony about some of his conversations with then-White House communications director Hope Hicks.
After Trump won this past November’s election, his lawyers argued that the case had to be scrapped to avoid impinging on his upcoming presidency and his transition to the Oval Office
The trial, which coincided with the presidential election race, was high risk for Mr Trump. If had lost the election and the case, he would have almost certainly gone to prison.
But a week before the sentencing, Judge Marchan deemed that an unconditional discharge “appears to be the most viable solution” amid concerns of presidential immunity.
“Sir, I wish you godspeed as you pursue your second term in office. Thank you,” he told the incoming US president as the sentencing concluded.
The sentence incensed Mr Cohen, who was the key prosecution witness in the hush money trial.
Mr Cohen, who was Mr Trump’s lawyer, served 13½ months in jail after pleading guilty to campaign finance charges and lying to Congress, rounded on his former boss on his social media channel.
The sentencing was little more than “political theatre”, Mr Cohen said.
“In my entire legal career I have never even heard of an unconditional dismissal being given to a defendant after a trial, “ he said.
“It means no incarceration. It also means no probation. It means virtually nothing, no accountability.”
Mr Trump’s felony convictions mean he will not be allowed to possess firearms. By law, every person convicted of a felony in New York must provide a DNA sample for the state’s crime databank.
Samples are collected after sentencing, typically when a defendant reports to probation, jail or prison. Samples can also be taken by a court or police official.
05:22 PM GMT
Live coverage has ended
Live coverage of Donald Trump’s sentencing for a case relating to hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels has ended. Here’s a roundup of the main events
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Donald Trump has avoided jail after being given an unconditional discharge, which the judge said was the “only lawful sentence” he could impose due to Mr Trump’s impending second term as president.
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Justice Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the case, wished Donald Trump “godspeed as you pursue your second term in office” in his final remarks.
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Reacting to the sentence, which was effectively a slap on the wrist, Donald Trump said that “radical Democrats” have lost “another pathetic, un-American witch-hunt”.
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Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass attacked Donald Trump, saying that rather than expressing any remorse for his criminal acts, he has spread disdain “for our institutions and the rule of law”.
05:10 PM GMT
Sham trial and a hoax sentencing, says Trump’s former chief medical adviser
Donald Trump’s former chief medical adviser said the president elect’s hush money case was a “sham trial” as sentencing began earlier this afternoon.
Ronny Jackson wrote on X: “A sham trial and a hoax sentencing!
“It should come as no surprise that this corrupt judge is bringing this just a few days before President Trump’s inauguration.
“Trump will win in the end and America wins in 10 days when we get Trump back!!”
A SHAM TRIAL and a HOAX SENTENCING!
It should come as no surprise that this corrupt judge is bringing this just a few days before President Trump’s inauguration.
Trump will win in the end and America wins in 10 days when we get Trump back!!
— Ronny Jackson (@RonnyJacksonTX) January 10, 2025
03:53 PM GMT
Judge wishes Trump ‘godspeed’ in final remarks
Justice Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s case, wished Mr Trump well for his second term in office in his final remarks to the president-elect.
“Sir, I wish you godspeed as you pursue your second term in office. Thank you,” he told the incoming US president as the sentencing concluded.
Mr Trump said nothing, and the video link screen via which the president-elect had appeared was turned off.
It came after Justice Merchan gave Mr Trump an unconditional discharge – meaning no jail time or fine.
The judge said it was the “only lawful sentence” he could impose due to Mr Trump’s impending second term as president.
03:47 PM GMT
Trump fundraises after sentence
Donald Trump’s team has sent a message to supporters asking for political donations after his sentencing this morning.
“After my rigged sentencing, do you still Stand with Trump?” reads an email sent just now.
“They’re trying to sabotage the Presidential Transition process. They’re trying to end the presidency as we know it — just before I take office!”
The email offers supporters a “MAGA poll”, and the opportunity to donate.
03:46 PM GMT
Trump: Radical democrats have lost another pathetic, un-American witch-hunt
Donald Trump said that “radical Democrats” have lost “another pathetic, un-American witch-hunt” as he reacted to avoiding jail or a fine in the case brought against him relating to hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
In a post on his social media site Truth Social, Mr Trump wrote that “tens of millions of dollars” and “6 years of obsessive work” had been wasted on the case, which “should have been spent on protecting New Yorkers from violent, rampant crime”.
“I was given an unconditional discharge,” the president-elect wrote. “That result alone proves that, as all legal scholars and experts have said, there is no case, there was never a case, and this whole scam fully deserves to be dismissed.”
“The real jury, the American people, have spoken, by re-electing me with an overwhelming mandate in one of the most consequential elections in history.”
03:34 PM GMT
Analysis: Trump’s legal strategy worked
The unavoidable conclusion of this morning’s sentencing hearing is that Donald Trump’s legal strategy was a complete success.
In all of the various cases against him, Mr Trump has delayed every step of the process in the hope of pushing it back past November 5 last year, when he won back the presidency in an historic victory.
As Judge Merchan acknowledged this morning, the fact Mr Trump is now the president-elect means that any other sentence than an unconditional discharge is impossible. This hearing was meant to be held in the summer, when he could have been given a jail sentence.
Mr Trump always hoped to secure an acquittal in the Stormy Daniels case, but this outcome is the next best thing. He will take office on Jan 20 with a symbolic criminal sentence that carries no jail time or financial penalty.
That vindicates his aggressive and controversial legal strategy: Delay, delay, delay ─ and then win.
Trump supporters display a giant flag outside the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York as the president-elect was sentenced for the Stormy Daniels hush money case – CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP
03:20 PM GMT
Trump sentencing was ‘political theatre’, key prosecution witness says
The prospect of Donald Trump avoiding punishment despite being convicted on 34 counts incensed Michael Cohen, who was the key prosecution witness in the hush money trial.
Mr Cohen, who was Mr Trump’s lawyer, served 13½ months in jail after pleading guilty to campaign finance charges and lying to Congress, rounded on his former boss on his social media channel.
The sentencing was little more than “political theatre”, Mr Cohen said.
“In my entire legal career I have never even heard of an unconditional dismissal being given to a defendant after a trial, “ he said.
“It means no incarceration. It also means no probation. It means virtually nothing, no accountability.
“And I say this, and I say it’s important, because as someone who is subpoenaed to testify in that case and classified as the key witness in that case, had I known, had I known that Trump would never be held accountable, I never would have accepted the subpoena.
“ I don’t care if they if they served me with the subpoena or not, I never would have taken the stand.”
03:17 PM GMT
Trump’s position does not ‘reduce the seriousness of the crime’, judge says
Judge Juan Merchan said before giving his sentence that he did not need to repeat the aggravating factors in Mr Trump’s case, including his frequent attacks on the court, prosecutors and judges.
“However the considerable, indeed extraordinary legal protections afforded the office of the chief executive is a factor that overrides all others,” he said.
“[The protections] do not reduce the seriousness of the crime or justify its commission in any way,” he said, but noted that “one power they do not provide is the power to erase a jury verdict.”
He added: “Ordinary citizens do not receive those legal protections. It is the office of the president that bestows those to the office holder. It is the citizenry of this nation that recently decided that you should once again receive the benefits of those protections.”
Anti-Trump demonstrators outside Manhattan Criminal Court before the start of the sentencing – Yuki Iwamura/FR171758 AP
03:12 PM GMT
Voters understand case is phony, Trump says
Voters understand this case is phony, says Mr Trump
Donald Trump said that voters could see the case against him was unjust, pointing to his election victory.
He told the court he won the popular vote by “millions and millions of votes” and took all seven swing states in his battle against Kamala Harris.
“They’ve been watching your trial, so they understood it,” he said of the voters.
03:09 PM GMT
Judge begins sentencing remarks
Justice Merchan, the judge overseeing the case, said the court has been presented with a “unique and remarkable set of circumstances”, but stressed that once the courtroom doors were closed, it was no different from any other trial.
“Jury selection was conducted. The same rules of evidence were followed. Opening statements were made… The same burdens of proof applied,” he said, suggesting that Mr Trump was seen by the court as a US citizen first and foremost.
03:05 PM GMT
Trump calls case a ‘political witch-hunt’
Donald Trump has blasted the hush money case brought against him as a “political witch-hunt’, saying he was “treated very, very unfairly”.
“The fact is, I’m totally innocent,” the president-elect told the courtroom.
Justice Merchan, the judge overseeing the case, responded to Mr Trump’s remarks with: “Thank you, Mr. Trump.”
03:02 PM GMT
Trump blasts case as a ‘very terrible experience’
Donald Trump has told the court that this case has been “a very terrible experience, and a setback for the New York court system”.
As the defendant, he has the right to comment at today’s hearing.
It is interesting that Joshua Steinglass, the prosecutor, has chosen to focus on Mr Trump’s conduct throughout this case in his remarks today rather than the crimes at hand.
That theme has become characteristic of the Trump cases, as lawyers and judges push back against his criticism of the prosecutions against him.
Each time Mr Trump appears in court, the jury effectively becomes a mini-electorate, and the case a referendum on Mr Trump himself.
02:57 PM GMT
Trump lawyer attacks legitimacy of the case
Todd Blanche, Mr Trump’s lawyer, has attacked the legitimacy of the case, saying that it was started “for the third time” after Mr Trump announced his intention to run for re-election.
The “majority of the American people” believe the case should not have been brought, Mr Blanche said.
Mr Blanche said that if there is to be a sentence, he agrees that it should be an unconditional discharge.
The judge overseeing the case has indicated he would give Mr Trump an unconditional discharge, meaning no jail time or fine.
A man impersonating Donald Trump walks outside Manhattan criminal court before the start of sentencing in the Stormy Daniels hush money case – Yuki Iwamura/FR171758 AP
02:53 PM GMT
Pictured: Inside the courtroom
US president-elect Donald Trump appears remotely for a sentencing hearing in front of New York State Judge Juan Merchan in the criminal case in which he was convicted in 2024 – ANGELA WEISS/AFP
02:46 PM GMT
Trump has spread disdain ‘for our institutions and the rule of law’, prosecutor says
Joshua Steinglass has attacked Donald Trump, saying that rather than expressing any remorse for his criminal acts, he has spread disdain “for our institutions and the rule of law”.
“This defendant has caused enduring damage to public perception of the criminal justice system and has placed officers of the court in harm’s way,” Mr Steinglass said.
Mr Steinglass however said that he agrees with the expected sentence of an unconditional discharge – meaning no jail time or fine.
02:44 PM GMT
Trump sentencing ‘provides moment of high drama’ for president-elect’s supporters
Today’s sentencing provides a moment of high drama for Donald Trump’s supporters and detractors just ten days before his inauguration, but the sentence is likely to be largely symbolic.
Mr Trump is most likely to be given an unconditional discharge — effectively a slap on the wrist — partly because of the constitutional implications of imposing criminal penalties on a president-elect.
What it will mean, however, is that Mr Trump will be the first person with a felony sentence to take office.
As we saw on the campaign trail last year, that issue does not appear to have worried voters. If anything, Mr Trump’s various legal woes only added to his support — and the perception he is under attack by the country’s elite.
02:40 PM GMT
Judge begins speaking
Justice Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the case, has begun speaking and is describing routine procedure before the proceedings begin.
He is wearing his judicial robe adorned with a gold tie.
02:38 PM GMT
Trump visible on court room screens
Donald Trump, who is appearing via video link, is visible on screens placed on the defence table.
Mr Trump, wearing a red tie, can be seen in front of two large American flags alongside Todd Blanche, his lead lawyer.
02:33 PM GMT
Trump lawyer takes place at the defence table
Emil Bove, one of Mr Trump’s lawyers, has entered the courtroom and walked over to the defence table.
Mr Trump has chosen Mr Bove to be his principal deputy associate attorney general when he takes office in ten days’ time.
Todd Blanche, Mr Trump’s lead lawyer in the hush money case, was picked to be deputy attorney general.
Mr Blanche is reported to be at Mar-a-Lago with the president-elect, who will appear by video link.
Emil Bove, attorney for Donald Trump, attends Manhattan Criminal Court during Trump’s sentencing – JEENAH MOON/Pool Reuters
02:29 PM GMT
Prosecutors enter the courtroom
Prosecutors in the Donald Trump hush money case have entered the courtroom where the president-elect is shortly to be sentenced.
Joshua Steinglass, Susan Hoffinger and the rest of the trial team were followed by two paralegals who served as witnesses during the trial.
Mr Steinglass delivered a closing argument in Mr Trump’s trial that was over five hours long.
He also played a leading role in convicting the Trump Organization, Mr Trump’s family business, for tax fraud in 2022.
02:21 PM GMT
Pictured: Trump supporters gather outside New York Criminal Court
Trump supporters demonstrate in front of the New York Criminal Court in Manhattan as the president-elect is set to be sentenced – Mike Segar/REUTERS
02:19 PM GMT
Trump issues ‘emergency declaration’ to supporters
Donald Trump has used his court appearance to raise money, issuing what he described as an “emergency declaration”.
In an email to supporters, he wrote: “I’m being sentenced today – just so they can label me a felon before I’m sworn in.
“Do you think it’s a coincidence my Inauguration is just days away?
“You know it and I know it: All charges should be dropped.
“Legal pundits agree. Legal scholars agree. Plain and simple this is an attack on their political opponent, ME!
“Justice is not the goal here. This unlawful witch-hunt is only meant to obstruct the Presidential Transition process.
“We can’t let that happen if we want to save America when I triumphantly return to office.”
The litany of legal battles has proved lucrative for the president-elect. On the first day of one of his trials, he raised $1.6 million from small donors.
According to Open Secrets, which monitors political spending, his various fundraising arms provided $20 million to cover the legal fees faced by Mr Trump and his allies.
02:18 PM GMT
Trump already challenging conviction
Donald Trump has already filed a civil action against the judge overseeing the case, challenging two recent rulings that upheld his conviction for hush money payments in May.
The rulings rejected Mr Trump’s claim that, as a former and future president, he is entitled to immunity.
Although Mr Trump is expected to avoid jail or a fine, he will still be the first convicted felon to become president of the United States.