President-elect Donald Trump says the sentencing hearing in his New York hush money case was a “despicable charade” and he plans to appeal his conviction.

The punishment-free judgment marks a quiet end to an extraordinary case that for the first time put a former president and major presidential candidate in a courtroom as a criminal defendant.

On Friday, a New York judge imposed a sentence that ensures Donald Trump will be the first convicted felon to enter the White House when he is sworn in as president on Jan. 20. It was a brief and relatively calm final encounter of Trump's relationship with Justice Juan Merchan over 21 months and featured accusations of political bias from the former and stern dressings-down from the latter.

New York State Judge Juan Merchan sentences U.S. President-elect Donald Trump as he appears remotely alongside his lawyer Todd Blanche for a sentencing hearing in the criminal cas

After months of delay, Donald Trump's criminal case is finally closed. For a breezily-paced half hour, the president-elect listened and watched via video from Mar-a-Lago as a Manhattan prosecutor decried his "dangerous rhetoric" and his defense lawyer promised to appeal the case.

The judge in Donald Trump’s hush money case sentenced the president-elect to an “unconditional discharge.’’ His conviction stands, but with no more penalties.

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,