The case involving US president, Donald Trump has ended as Judge Juan Merchan has handed him a no-penalty sentence on all 34 counts in his hush money case.
A no-penalty sentence, also called an unconditional discharge, means the incoming president avoids jail time, probation and paying any fines.
Explaining his decision, Judge Merchan says the protections afforded to the office of the president are a “factor that overrides all others”.
“Donald Trump, the ordinary citizen, Donald Trump the criminal defendant, would not be entitled to such considerable protections,” he adds.
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He ends proceedings by telling Trump that he wishes him luck in his second term in office.
Judge Juan Merchan is now talking and says “it is a judge that must decide what is a just conclusion with a verdict of guilty”.
He reads from a paper and says that US legislature “sets the parameters” and the court “has broad discretion of sources and evidence of what to consider”.
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“Never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances,” he says.
“This has been a truly extraordinary case.”
He says “the trial was a bit of a paradox” because “once the doors closed it was not unique”.
