Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Friday, January 10, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Friday, January 10, 2025
Trump sentenced to unconditional discharge in hush money case
Former US president Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court during jury deliberations in his criminal hush money trial in New York, May 30, 2024. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool, File)
A judge has sentenced Donald Trump to an unconditional discharge for covering up hush money payments to a porn star despite the US president-elect’s last-ditch efforts to avoid becoming the first felon in the White House.
“This court has determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of a judgement of conviction without encroaching on the highest office of the land, is an unconditional discharge,” says New York judge Juan Merchan delivering the sentence during a court session that Trump attended virtually.
