Trump gets no-penalty sentence in his hush money case, while calling it 'despicable'

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced Friday to no punishment in his historic hush money case, a judgment that lets him return to the White House unencumbered by the threat of a jail term or a fine.

With Trump appearing by video from his Florida estate, the sentence quietly capped an extraordinary case rife with moments unthinkable in the U.S. only a few years ago.

It was the first criminal prosecution and first conviction of a former U.S. president and major presidential candidate. The New York case became the only one of Trump's four criminal indictments that has gone to trial and possibly the only one that ever will. And the sentencing came 10 days before his inauguration for his second term.

In roughly six minutes of remarks to the court, a calm but insistent Trump called the case “a weaponization of government” and “an embarrassment to New York.” He maintained that he did not commit any crime.

"It’s been a political witch hunt. It was done to damage my reputation so that I would lose the election, and, obviously, that didn’t work,” the Republican president-elect said by video, with U.S. flags in the background.

After the roughly half-hour proceeding, Trump said in a post on his social media network that the hearing had been a “despicable charade.” He reiterated that he would appeal his conviction.

Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan could have sentenced the 78-year-old to up to four years in prison. Instead, Merchan chose a sentence that sidestepped thorny constitutional issues by effectively ending the case but assured that Trump will become the first president to take office with a felony conviction on his record.

Trump’s no-penalty sentence, called an unconditional discharge, is rare for felony convictions. The judge said that he had to respect Trump's upcoming legal protections as president, while also giving due consideration to the jury's decision.

“Despite the extraordinary breadth of those protections, one power they do not provide is the power to erase a jury verdict,” said Merchan, who had indicated ahead of time that he planned the no-penalty sentence.

As Merchan pronounced the sentence, Trump sat upright, lips pursed, frowning slightly. He tilted his head to the side as the judge wished him “godspeed in your second term in office.”

Before the hearing, a handful of Trump supporters and critics gathered outside. One group held a banner that read, “Trump is guilty.” The other held one that said, “Stop partisan conspiracy” and “Stop political witch hunt.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office brought the charges, is a Democrat.

The norm-smashing case saw the former and incoming president charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, put on trial for almost two months and convicted by a jury on every count. Yet the legal detour — and sordid details aired in court of a plot to bury affair allegations — didn’t hurt him with voters, who elected him in November to a second term.

Beside Trump as he appeared virtually Friday from his Mar-a-Lago property was defense lawyer Todd Blanche, with partner Emil Bove in the New York courtroom. Trump has tapped both for high-ranking Justice Department posts.

Prosecutors said that they supported a no-penalty sentence, but they chided Trump's attacks on the legal system throughout the case.

“The once and future president of the United States has engaged in a coordinated campaign to undermine its legitimacy,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said.

Afterward, Trump was expected to return to the business of planning for his new administration. He was set later Friday to host conservative House Republicans as they gathered to discuss GOP priorities.

The specific charges in the hush money case were about checks and ledgers. But the underlying accusations were seamy and deeply entangled with Trump’s political rise.

Trump was charged with fudging his business' records to veil a $130,000 payoff to porn actor Stormy Daniels. She was paid, late in Trump’s 2016 campaign, not to tell the public about a sexual encounter she maintains the two had a decade earlier. He says nothing sexual happened between them and that he did nothing wrong.

Prosecutors said Daniels was paid off — through Trump's personal attorney at the time, Michael Cohen — as part of a wider effort to keep voters from hearing about Trump's alleged extramarital escapades.

Trump denies the alleged encounters occurred. His lawyers said he wanted to squelch the stories to protect his family, not his campaign. And while prosecutors said Cohen's reimbursements for paying Daniels were deceptively logged as legal expenses, Trump says that's simply what they were.

“For this I got indicted,” Trump lamented to the judge Friday. “It’s incredible, actually."

Trump's lawyers tried unsuccessfully to forestall a trial, and later to get the conviction overturned, the case dismissed or at least the sentencing postponed.

Trump attorneys have leaned heavily into assertions of presidential immunity from prosecution, and they got a boost in July from a Supreme Court decision that affords former commanders-in-chief considerable immunity.

Trump was a private citizen and presidential candidate when Daniels was paid in 2016. He was president when the reimbursements to Cohen were made and recorded the following year.

Merchan, a Democrat, repeatedly postponed the sentencing, initially set for July. But last week, he set Friday's date, citing a need for “finality.”

Trump's lawyers then launched a flurry of last-minute efforts to block the sentencing. Their last hope vanished Thursday night with a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that declined to delay the sentencing.

Meanwhile, the other criminal cases that once loomed over Trump have ended or stalled ahead of trial.

After Trump's election, special counsel Jack Smith closed out the federal prosecutions over Trump’s handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. A state-level Georgia election interference case is locked in uncertainty after prosecutorFaniWillis was removed from it.

Associated Press writer Adriana Gomez Licon in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.

Follow the AP's coverage of President-elect Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump.

President-elect Donald Trump appears on a video feed for his sentencing for for his hush money conviction in a Manhattan courtroom on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025 in New York. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)

Attorney Emil Bove, left, listens as attorney Todd Blanche and President-elect Donald Trump, seen on a television screen, appear virtually for sentencing for Trump's hush money conviction in a Manhattan courtroom on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025 in New York. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)

Attorney Todd Blanche and President-elect Donald Trump, seen on a television screen, appear virtually for sentencing for Trump's hush money conviction in a Manhattan courtroom on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025 in New York. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)

President-elect Donald Trump appears on a video feed for his sentencing for for his hush money conviction in a Manhattan courtroom on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025 in New York. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump appears remotely for a sentencing hearing in front of New York State Judge Juan Merchan in the criminal case in which he was convicted in 2024 on charges involving hush money paid to a porn star, at New York Criminal Court in Manhattan in New York, Jan. 10, 2025. (Brendan McDermid via AP, Pool)

Demonstrators protest outside Manhattan criminal court before the start of the sentencing in President-elect Donald Trump's hush money case, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Demonstrators protest outside Manhattan criminal court before the start of the sentencing in President-elect Donald Trump's hush money case, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Demonstrators protest outside Manhattan criminal court before the start of the sentencing in President-elect Donald Trump's hush money case, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Demonstrators protest outside Manhattan criminal court before the start of the sentencing in President-elect Donald Trump's hush money case, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A man impersonating President-elect Donald Trump walks outside Manhattan criminal court before the start of the sentencing in Trump's hush money case, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A supporter for President-elect Donald Trump takes a photo of the Manhattan criminal courthouse before the start of the sentencing in Trump's hush money case, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A man crosses the street outside Manhattan criminal court before the start of the sentencing in President-elect Donald Trump's hush money case, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FILE - Judge Juan M. Merchan sits for a portrait in his chambers in New York, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

BANGKOK (AP) — The impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’sblast of tariff hikes was reverberating across world markets Monday as America’s trading partners puzzled over whether there is room for negotiating better deals.

Several countries said they were sending trade officials to Washington to try to talk through the crisis, which has cast uncertainty over the global economic outlook, hammered markets and left U.S. allies wondering about the value of their ties with the world's largest economy.

However, Germany’s economy minister, Robert Habeck, was defiant as he arrived at a meeting of European Union trade ministers in Luxembourg, saying the premise of the wide-ranging tariffs was “nonsense” and that attempts by individual countries to win exemptions haven’t worked in the past.

It's important for the EU to stick together, he said. That “means being clear that we are in a strong position — America is in a position of weakness.”

China, which hit back Friday at Washington with 34% tariffs on U.S. products and other retaliatory moves, accused the U.S. of failing to play fair.

“Putting ‘America First’ over international rules is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying,” Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters.

The ruling Communist Party struck a note of confidence even as markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai crumpled. “The sky won't fall,” declared The People’s Daily, the party's official mouthpiece. “Faced with the indiscriminate punches of U.S. taxes, we know what we are doing and we have tools at our disposal.”

Leading big drops in many markets, Hong Kong’s stock benchmark, the Hang Seng, plunged 13.2%. The Shanghai Composite index, meanwhile, lost 7.3% despite reported moves by regulators to staunch the losses.

China’s Commerce Ministry said officials met with representatives of 20 American businesses including Tesla and GE Healthcare over the weekend and urged them to take “concrete actions” to address the tariffs issue.

During the meeting, Ling Ji, a vice minister of commerce, promised that China will remain open to foreign investment, according to the readout by the ministry.

South Korea’s Trade Ministry said its top negotiator, Inkyo Cheong, will visit Washington this week to express Seoul’s concerns over the 25% tariffs on Korean goods and discuss ways to mitigate the damage to South Korean businesses, which include major automakers and steel makers.

Pakistan also planned to send a delegation to Washington this month to try negotiate over the 29% tariffs on its exports to the U.S., officials said. The prime minister ordered Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to assess the tariff's potential impact on Pakistan's fragile economy and draw up recommendations.

The U.S. imports around $5 billion worth of textiles and other products each year from Pakistan, which heavily relies on loans from the International Monetary Fund and other lenders.

In Southeast Asia, Malaysia’s Trade Minister Zafrul Abdul Aziz said his country will seek to forge a united response from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to Trump's sweeping tariffs.

As chair of the 10-nation body this year, Malaysia will lead a meeting Thursday in its capital Kuala Lumpur to discuss broader implications of the trade war on regional trade and investment, Zafrul told reporters.

“We are looking at the investment flows, macroeconomic stability and ASEAN's coordinated response to this tariff issue,” Zafrul said. He denied reports Malaysia had imposed a 47% tariff on imports from the U.S., saying the actual average Malaysian tariff on American exports is 5.6%.

He said that he had met with the U.S. ambassador to Malaysia to try to clarify how the U.S. came up with its 24% tariff.

Indonesia, one of the region's biggest economies, said it would work with businesses to increase its imports of U.S. wheat, cotton, oil and gas to help reduce its trade surplus, which was $18 billion in 2024.

Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto told a news conference that Indonesia will not retaliate against the new 32% tariff on Indonesian exports, but would use diplomacy to seek mutually beneficial solutions.

Some Southeast Asian neighbors, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, face tariffs of over 40%, giving Indonesia a slight advantage, he noted.

“For Indonesia, it is also another opportunity as its market is huge in America,” Hartoto said. He said Indonesia would buy U.S.-made components for several national strategic projects, including refineries.

Associated Press journalists from around the world contributed to this report.

People walk by an electronic board displaying Shanghai shares trading index at a brokerage house, in Beijing, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Containers are stored in the small harbor in Frankfurt, Germany, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Shipping containers are stacked at Port Botany in Sydney, Australia, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Vehicles make their way on a street at the main business district in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

A man walks on a pedestrian bridge as tall buildings are seen in the background at the main business district in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

New cars sit at Tilbury Port in Essex, Britain, Monday April 7, 2025. (Jamie Lashma/PA via AP)

People watch a live screen on the facade of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

While a stock exchange trader sits in front of his monitors on the trading floor of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Germany, the display board with the Dax curve shows a value of less than 20,000 points. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economics Airlangga Hartarto, right, speaks during a press conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

A dejected investor waits to restart trading, suspended for an hour following a 5% drop in in its main index at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE), in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

Pedestrian are reflected on a brokerage house's window as an electronic board displays shares trading index, in Beijing, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

A dejected investor waits to restart trading, suspended for an hour following a 5% drop in in its main index, at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE), in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)