What you need to know
• Trump sentenced: President-elect Donald Trump has been sentenced to unconditional discharge for his conviction last year on 34 charges of business fraud related to hush money payment to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
• Listen to recording from the hearing: Listen here as audio from the hearing is being played back live.
• What the sentence means: Unconditional discharge means Trump will not be imprisoned, fined or face probation, but his conviction still stands, and he will enter office as a convicted felon. Prosecutors had recommended the sentence, saying in court Friday, “we must be respectful of the office of the presidency” and Trump’s pending inauguration.
Court is now releasing audio playback of today’s sentencing
The court is now releasing audio of today’s sentencing, which was not allowed to be broadcast live by media.
The audio recording will provide an opportunity to hear Donald Trump speaking as he was sentenced for his hush money conviction, meaning he will enter the presidency as a felon, but received no penalties.
Analysis: Trump doesn’t have the same conditions as other convicted felons, CNN anchor says
From CNN’s Shania Shelton
President-elect Donald Trump doesn’t have the same conditions as other convicted felons who have probationary periods, but instead has to maintain his role as president, CNN anchor Laura Coates said.
“Donald Trump right now is in a league of his own for the reasons that my colleagues have described. But an unconditional release, normally, if somebody is convicted of a crime and does not have a jail sentence imposed, a probationary period comes in,” Coates said.
Coates described responsibilities including checking in with a probation officer, engaging with drug testing and community service “in order to make sure that they don’t have the ability to be actually brought into a jail.”
“Donald Trump doesn’t have any of those conditions. The condition he now has is to maintain his role as the commander in chief and president of the United States,” Coates said.
Trump will take office on January 20.
Trump sentenced to unconditional release, meaning he’ll face no jail time or penalties
Judge Juan Merchan has sentenced Donald Trump to unconditional discharge.
“The only lawful sentence that permits entry of a judgment or conviction without encroaching upon the highest office of the land is an unconditional discharge,” Merchan told Trump.
The sentencing, which was expected, means Trump will remain a felon but faces no jail time, penalties or probation for his conviction in the hush money case.
“Sir, I wish you godspeed as you assume your second term in office,” Merchan said in his final statement to Trump.
Trump did not react as Merchan concluded the hearing.
Powers of the presidency are not able to “erase a jury verdict,” Merchan says
Judge Juan Merchan says he need not repeat the aggravating factors that he has already articulated in his recent orders.
“However the considerable, indeed extraordinary, legal protections afforded the office of the chief executive is a factor that overrides all others,” he says.
“They do not reduce the seriousness of the crime or justify its commission in any way,” Merchan says of the legal protections for the office of the presidency.
“One power they do not provide is the power to erase a jury verdict,” Merchan says.
Merchan noted that voters ultimately decided to bestow Trump the protections of the office once again.
“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,” he says.