During the sentencing, Justice Juan Merchan said he was keenly aware of the unique set of circumstances before him and the country.

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.

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.

NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump spoke for six minutes. The judge talked for seven. In the end, the first criminal court sentencing of a former or future president took little more than half an hour.

President-elect Donald Trump can be sentenced Friday in his New York hush money case, the Supreme Court said in a 5-4 ruling.

On Friday, a New York judge imposed a sentence that ensures Donald Trump will be the first convicted felon to enter the White House when he is sworn in as president on Jan. 20. It was a brief and relatively calm final encounter of Trump's relationship with Justice Juan Merchan over 21 months and featured accusations of political bias from the former and stern dressings-down from the latter.

President-elect Donald Trump maintained on Jan. 10 his contention that the election-year case which resulted in 34 felony charges was politically motivated and without merit.

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.

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,