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

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

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.

Unlike his trial last year, when Trump brought allies to the courthouse and addressed waiting reporters outside the courthouse, the former president did not appear in person Friday, instead making a brief virtual appearance from his home in Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump, wearing a dark suit and seated next to one of his lawyers with an American flag in the background, appeared on a video screen as he again insisted he did not commit a crime.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 been a political witch hunt. It was done to damage my reputation so that I would lose the election, and obviously, that didn香蕉视频直播檛 work,香蕉视频直播� Trump said.

Trump called the case 香蕉视频直播渁 weaponization of government香蕉视频直播� and 香蕉视频直播渁n embarrassment to New York.香蕉视频直播�

Trump香蕉视频直播檚 sentence of an unconditional discharge caps a norm-smashing case that , put on and convicted by a jury on every count. Yet, the legal detour 香蕉视频直播� and sordid details aired in court of a plot to bury affair allegations 香蕉视频直播� didn香蕉视频直播檛 hurt him with voters, who elected him to a second term.

Merchan said that like when facing any other defendant, he must consider any aggravating factors before imposing a sentence, but the legal protection that Trump will have as president 香蕉视频直播渋s a factor that overrides all others.香蕉视频直播�

香蕉视频直播淒espite the extraordinary breadth of those legal protections, one power they do not provide is that they do not erase a jury verdict,香蕉视频直播� Merchan said.

Trump, briefly addressing the court by video, said his criminal trial and conviction have 香蕉视频直播渂een a very terrible experience香蕉视频直播� and insisted he committed no crime.

Before Friday香蕉视频直播檚 hearing, Merchan had , called an unconditional discharge, which meant no jail time, no probation and no fines would be imposed.

Prosecutors said Friday that they supported a no-penalty sentence, but they chided Trump香蕉视频直播檚 attacks on the legal system throughout and after the case.

香蕉视频直播淭he once and future President of the United States has engaged in a coordinated campaign to undermine its legitimacy,香蕉视频直播� prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said.

Rather than show remorse, Trump has 香蕉视频直播渂red disdain香蕉视频直播� for the jury verdict and the criminal justice system, Steinglass said, and his calls for retaliation against those involved in the case, including calling for the judge to be disbarred, 香蕉视频直播渉as caused enduring damage to public perception of the criminal justice system and has put officers of the court in harm香蕉视频直播檚 way.香蕉视频直播�

As he appeared from his Mar-a-Lago home, the former president was seated with his lawyer Todd Blanche, whom he香蕉视频直播檚 tapped to serve as the second-highest ranking Justice Department official in his incoming administration.

香蕉视频直播淭he American voters got a chance to see and decide for themselves whether this was the kind of case that should香蕉视频直播檝e been brought. And they decided,香蕉视频直播� Blanche said. 香蕉视频直播淎nd that香蕉视频直播檚 why in 10 days President Trump is going to assume the office of the president of the United States.香蕉视频直播�

Before the hearing, a handful of Trump supporters and critics gathered outside. One group held a banner that read, 香蕉视频直播淭rump is guilty.香蕉视频直播� The other held one that said, 香蕉视频直播淪top partisan conspiracy香蕉视频直播� and 香蕉视频直播淪top political witch hunt.香蕉视频直播�

The hush money case to veil a $130,000 payoff to porn actor Stormy Daniels. She was paid, late in Trump香蕉视频直播檚 2016 campaign, not to tell the public about a sexual encounter 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.

香蕉视频直播淚 never falsified business records. It is a fake, made up charge,香蕉视频直播� the Republican president-elect wrote on his Truth Social platform last week. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office brought the charges, is a Democrat.

Bragg香蕉视频直播檚 office said in a court filing Monday that Trump committed 香蕉视频直播渟erious offenses that caused extensive harm to the sanctity of the electoral process and to the integrity of New York香蕉视频直播檚 financial marketplace.香蕉视频直播�

While the specific charges were about checks and ledgers, the underlying accusations were seamy and deeply entangled with Trump香蕉视频直播檚 political rise. Prosecutors said Daniels was paid off 香蕉视频直播� at the time, Michael Cohen 香蕉视频直播� as part of to keep voters from hearing about Trump香蕉视频直播檚 alleged extramarital escapades.

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 Cohen香蕉视频直播檚 reimbursements for paying Daniels were deceptively logged as legal expenses, Trump says that香蕉视频直播檚 simply what they were.

香蕉视频直播淭here was nothing else it could have been called,香蕉视频直播� he wrote on Truth Social last week, adding, 香蕉视频直播淚 was hiding nothing.香蕉视频直播�

Trump香蕉视频直播檚 lawyers tried unsuccessfully to forestall a trial. Since his May conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records, they have pulled virtually every legal lever within reach to try to get the conviction overturned, the case dismissed or at least the sentencing postponed.

The Trump attorneys have leaned heavily into assertions of presidential immunity from prosecution, and they got a boost in July from that affords former commanders-in-chief considerable immunity.

Trump was a private citizen and presidential candidate when Daniels was paid in 2016. He was president when the reimbursements to Cohen were made and recorded the following year.

Merchan, a Democrat, repeatedly postponed the sentencing, initially set for July. But last week, he , citing a need for 香蕉视频直播渇inality.香蕉视频直播� He wrote that he strove to balance Trump香蕉视频直播檚 need to govern, the Supreme Court香蕉视频直播檚 immunity ruling, the respect due a jury verdict and the public香蕉视频直播檚 expectation that 香蕉视频直播渘o one is above the law.香蕉视频直播�

Trump香蕉视频直播檚 lawyers then launched a flurry of last-minute efforts to block the sentencing. Their last hope vanished Thursday night with a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that declined to delay the sentencing.

Meanwhile, the other criminal cases that once loomed over Trump have ended or stalled ahead of trial.

After Trump香蕉视频直播檚 election, special counsel Jack Smith over Trump香蕉视频直播檚 handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. A state-level is locked in uncertainty after from it.

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Follow the AP香蕉视频直播檚 coverage of President-elect Donald Trump at .

Michael R. Sisak, Jennifer Peltz, Jake Offenhartz And Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press