Judge Juan Merchan spoke to President-elect Donald Trump for several minutes as he imposed a sentence of unconditional discharge without any punishment in the New York hush money case. Merchan cited the protections of ‘office of the presidency’ as he explained his ruling.

Merchan allowed media organizations to record the audio from inside the courtroom as he sentenced President-elect Donald Trump on Friday to an “unconditional discharge”.

Donald Trump has thanked the Supreme Court after it refused his request to halt his sentencing hearing in New York. Newsweek sought email comment from Trump's attorney on Friday. Trump has long attacked legal decisions that have not gone his way.

The ruling can be appealed. President-elect Donald Trump says releasing the special counsel report would interfere with his White House transition.

A ttorneys for President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday urged an appeals court to block the publication of special counsel Jack Smith’s report explaining why prosecutors decided