Sentenced... CONVICT!

Trump sentenced to unconditional release, meaning he'll face no jail time or penalties

By Lauren del Valle, Kara Scannell, Jeremy Herb and Shania Shelton

Judge Juan Merchan has sentenced Donald Trump to unconditional discharge.

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.

Trump did not react as Merchan concluded the hearing.

Judge Juan Merchan says he need not repeat the aggrevating 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.

“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.

Judge Juan Merchan is speaking to Donald Trump and is noting that it’s the office of the presidency that is extraordinary, not the occupant of the office.

“It is the legal protections afforded to the office of the president of the United States that are extraordinary, not the occupant of the office,” he said.

Merchan says that once the courtroom doors closed, the trial was not different from any other in the courthouse.

Judge Juan Merchan says, “never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstance.”

“This has been a truly extraordinary case,” he adds.

As Judge Juan Merchan speaks, President-elect Donald Trump is leaning forward.

Trump is alternating between looking ahead at Merchan and looking down and away from the screen.

President-elect Donald Trump just finished speaking in court.

“Thank you Mr. Trump,” Judge Juan Merchan says.

“The imposition of sentence is one of the most difficult and significant decisions that any criminal court judge is called upon to make,” Merchan adds.

Merchan says he believes that Trump needs to hear his reasoning for his sentence though he indicated his inclinations ahead of time.