Donald Trump was sentenced without penalty in the New York hush money case Friday after a symbolic – and historic and unprecedented – hearing following the first felony conviction of a former and soon-to-be sitting president.

President-elect Donald Trump says the sentencing hearing in his New York hush money case was a “despicable charade” and he plans to appeal his conviction.

President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced Jan. 10 to an unconditional discharge, in which a defendant isn’t fined, imprisoned or given probation. Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in May 2024.

Donald Trump was not punished for his criminal conviction in the Manhattan hush money case, bringing a lackluster end to the legal saga that will make him the country’s first felon-turned-president. At a sentencing hearing on Friday,

Donald Trump's sentencing in his New York criminal case on Friday closes out a series of prosecutions that he largely beat by retaking the U.S. presidency, though he is still fighting to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars for losses in civil lawsuits.

"This has been a very terrible experience" and a "setback" for the New York court system, Trump told the judge overseeing his case minutes before his sentence was handed down. Trump was convicted May 30 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.