Justice Juan Merchan's sentencing of Trump, 78, to unconditional discharge, just days before his Jan. 20 inauguration, closes a case that had loomed over his bid to retake the White House.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump appears remotely for a sentencing hearing in front of New York State Judge Juan Merchan in the criminal case in which he was convicted in 2024 on charges involving hush money paid to a porn star, at New York Criminal Court in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., January 10, 2025.
Credit: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/Pool