Justice Juan M. Merchan gave Donald J. Trump a symbolic punishment. The judge said that leniency was due the office of the president, not the man who will soon hold the title.

US President-elect Donald Trump has been sentenced to an "unconditional discharge" in his hush-money criminal trial. That means he will face no penalty in the form of prison time, probation or a fine. He will take office as the first US president with a felony conviction.

The New York judge who presided over Donald Trump’s hush money case on Friday sentenced the president-elect to an “unconditional discharge,” meaning he is now a convicted felon in the eyes of New York state law but will face no further penalties.

Donald J. Trump’s sentencing will allow him to begin mounting a formal appeal, which could take months or years.

A judge has sentenced US President-elect Donald Trump to an "unconditional discharge," bringing to an end the first criminal trial of a former US president. The sentence means the incoming president has been spared any penalty, including jail time or a fine.

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In the first test of how receptive the court may be to Trump, 4 of the court's 6 conservative members said they would have granted his emergency request.

The high court’s action clears the way for the president-elect to be sentenced for his criminal conviction in Manhattan on Friday.