By the time he appeared virtually in Merchan’s courtroom Friday morning, Trump knew full well that he would face no real penalty for his conviction. The judge was well-aware that we bubble-wrap presidents and protect them from legal proceedings and sentences that could undermine their ability to do their jobs.

Friday’s punishment was largely symbolic, but it ensured that Donald J. Trump would become America’s first felon president.

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 spoke for six minutes. In the end, the first criminal court sentencing of a former or future president took little more than half an hour. Trump, appearing by video from his Palm Beach,

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The president-elect's sentencing after being convicted of 34 felony counts in hush-money case draws a wide range of reactions from supporters, critics