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Donald Trump has been spared punishment for his “hush money” conviction, escaping any punishment in a historic criminal case days before he re-enters the White House.

At a hearing in Manhattan on Friday, where Trump appearing virtually from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Justice Juan Merchan refused to sentence the president-elect to prison time or impose any fines, instead releasing him with an “unconditional dismissal” .

Merchan, who presided over the first-ever criminal trial against a former US president in the spring, said in brief remarks before announcing his decision that it was “the only lawful sentence . . . no violation of the highest duty of the land”.

He added that, despite the “far-reaching protections” given to those holding the office, “they do not diminish the seriousness of the crime” nor do they give “the power to overturn a jury’s verdict” .

Trump, wearing a resigned, glum look, had earlier railed against the case, calling it a “weapon of the government” and claiming that Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, who sat in court, did not want to file charges.

“I am completely innocent, I have done nothing wrong . . . I got indicted over calling a legal expense a legal expense,” Trump told the court. “I think it’s a shame in New York.”

The proceedings have attracted little of the media frenzy that accompanied Trump’s seven-week trial last year, which took place in the midst of his third presidential campaign. It marks the symbolic end of a year-long attempt by state and federal prosecutors to convict Trump of several alleged crimes, from trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election to maintaining classified documents. after his previous departure from the White House.

The two federal criminal charges against the 78-year-old are in jeopardy after the Supreme Court ruled this year that presidents enjoy broad immunity from prosecutions for official acts while in office. Joe Biden’s justice department has now defeated them, in keeping with the agency’s longstanding policy of not prosecuting sitting presidents.

A Georgia election interference case was compromised by the district attorney’s failure to disclose an affair with the lead prosecutor he brought to the case, resulting in his disqualification.

The Manhattan case, which was the first to be brought and the only one to reach a conclusion, also failed in Trump’s re-election.

Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts, after a jury found he falsified business records related to payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels, who threatened to go public the allegations of a relationship with the real-estate mogul in the lead up to the 2016 election.

But Bragg did not fight several attempts to delay sentencing. When Trump slammed Kamala Harris in November, he refused to seek any punishment for the president-elect, beyond Friday’s symbolic sentence.

Trump, who has consistently criticized the proceedings as a “witch hunt” by Democratic prosecutors, nevertheless tried to prevent the sentence from happening, appealing to higher courts in New York and the Supreme Court. in the US.

On Thursday night, hours before the sentencing, a 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court refused to grant Trump’s request, saying there was no indication that the proceedings would significantly interfere with the preparations. of Trump to re-enter the White House.

Trump, who has vowed to retaliate against his political enemies and those who have brought charges against him, plans to install some of his senior lawyers in key positions, including at the Department of Justice, in his return to Washington.