Trump gets no-penalty sentence in his hush money case, while calling it 'despicable'

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

67% : With Trump appearing by video from his Florida estate, the sentence quietly capped an extraordinary trial rife with moments unthinkable in the U.S. only a few years ago.
61% : Afterward, Trump was expected to return to the business of planning for his new administration.
57% : Trump attorneys have leaned heavily into assertions of presidential immunity from prosecution, and they got a boost in July from a Supreme Court decision that affords former commanders-in-chief considerable immunity.
50% : Trump was a private citizen and presidential candidate when Daniels was paid in 2016.
47% : " Before the hearing, a handful of Trump supporters and critics gathered outside.
44% : Instead, Merchan chose a sentence that sidestepped thorny constitutional issues by effectively ending the case but assured that Trump will become the first president to take office with a felony conviction on his record.
42% : After the roughly half-hour proceeding, Trump said in a post on his social media network that the hearing had been a "despicable charade."
41% : Beside him at his Mar-a-Lago property was defense lawyer Todd Blanche, whom Trump has tapped to serve as the second-highest ranking Justice Department official in his incoming administration.
34% : As Merchan pronounced the sentence, Trump sat upright, lips pursed, frowning slightly.
34% : And while prosecutors said Cohen's reimbursements for paying Daniels were deceptively logged as legal expenses, Trump says that's simply what they were.
32% : One group held a banner that read, "Trump is guilty."
30% : Trump was charged with fudging his business' records to veil a $130,000 payoff to porn actor Stormy Daniels.
27% : Trump denies the alleged encounters occurred.
24% : Meanwhile, the other criminal cases that once loomed over Trump have ended or stalled ahead of trial.

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