President-elect Trump was found guilty in May of falsifying business records.
President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced Friday in his historic hush money case to an unconditional discharge -- allowing Trump to avoid prison, fines or probation, but cementing his status as a convicted felon just 10 days before he takes the oath of office for his second term.
During a brief virtual hearing, New York prosecutors blasted him for engaging in a "direct attack on the rule of law" and making efforts to "undermine its legitimacy" by attacking the judge and others involved in the case. Trump's defense team, which vowed to appeal, said the case should never have been brought and called it a "sad day for this country."
Judge Juan Merchan, who was a frequent target of Trump during the trial, said the unconditional discharge was the "only lawful sentence" to protect "the office of the president ... not the occupant of the office."
Donald Trump and his attorney Todd Blanche just logged on virtually.
Trump and Blanche are seated in front of two American flags and occupy the entire flat screen monitor positioned next to the defense table.
In total, approximately 15 members of the DA's office are seated in court. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is in the second row of the gallery, seated in the middle of the tightly-pack row.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and attorneys on his staff have entered the courtroom.
Prosecutors Joshua Steinglass, Christopher Conroy, and Susan Hoffinger are seated at counsel table. Seven other members of the DA's office are also seated in the courtroom.
Trump's attorney Emil Bove just arrived as well.
President-elect Trump will appear virtually for his sentencing from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
His lead defense attorney Todd Blanche -- picked by Trump to be deputy attorney general in his incoming administration -- will appear with Trump from Mar-a-Lago.
Trump’s lawyer Emil Bove, another top Justice Department pick, will be in court in New York City.
With Trump attending the hearing virtually from Florida, security is notably light in the lower Manhattan courthouse ahead of today's 9:30 a.m. ET sentencing hearing.
The table where Trump and his lawyers normally sat for the trial last year is empty; instead, Trump will appear on the four flat-screen televisions mounted on the courtroom walls.
There are a few changes to the courtroom itself since Trump's conviction seven months ago. The gallery is fully occupied and so longer subject to the security restrictions that limited its capacity, and the sketch artists are seated in the jury box. The tile floors in the courtroom are glaringly white, appearing to have been cleaned or replaced since the trial last year.
