A New York state court judge sentenced Donald Trump in his hush money case to ‘unconditional discharge.’ What does that mean?

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.

Before Friday’s hearing, Merchan had indicated he planned the no-penalty sentence, called an unconditional discharge, which meant no jail time, no probation and no fines would be imposed.

President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced Jan. 10 to an unconditional discharge, in which a defendant isn’t fined, imprisoned or given probation. Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in May 2024.

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.

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,

Donald Trump's sentencing in his New York criminal case on Friday closes out a series of prosecutions that he largely beat by retaking the U.S. presidency, though he is still fighting to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars for losses in civil lawsuits.

"This has been a very terrible experience" and a "setback" for the New York court system, Trump told the judge overseeing his case minutes before his sentence was handed down. Trump was convicted May 30 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.