Trump's sentencing ends with no punishment, as judge wishes him 'Godspeed' in his second term in office

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

48% : The Supreme Court's immunity decision gave Trump protections that "ordinary citizens" do not receive, but they did not "reduce the seriousness of the crime or justify its commission in any way," Merchan said Friday.
45% : The judge ultimately set Friday's date, writing that only a sentencing hearing before Trump's second term would respect the jury verdict -- as well as allow Trump to appeal his case like any other ordinary defendant.
36% : The judge, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, handed down a sentence of no punishment as expected.Merchan, reading from a statement, briefly chastised Trump, saying no ordinary citizen would have received the legal breaks he enjoyed.
34% : Although Trump was no longer president, and much of the conduct in his case took place before his first term, the Supreme Court ruled the immunity protections were so vast that it even precluded evidence from being admitted in a criminal proceeding.
32% : Trump appeared by video from his Florida estate, sitting alongside his defense lawyer Todd Blanche with a pair of gold-fringed American flags draped behind them.
32% : "It's been a political witch hunt," Trump said when given the opportunity to speak.
31% : Friday's sentencing brings a delayed capstone to the criminal case just 10 days before Trump is scheduled to be sworn in again as the president of the United States.
29% : "In May, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of all 34 felony counts prosecutors brought against him, finding he falsified business records in order to disguise hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, a porn star who testified she had a brief affair with him ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
25% : The assistant district attorney, speaking as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sat behind him, said the court had found Trump in contempt for 10 different violations of extrajudicial speech.
24% : Trump addressed the court virtually for under 10 minutes, criticizing the "witch hunt" against him.
24% : Trump -- slumped over a table and visible in the courtroom on overhead screens -- then delivered a seven-minute statement of protest against the "witch hunt" against him.
23% : Before Trump was sentenced, the case was thrown into turmoil after the US Supreme Court ruled in July that the president is entitled to sweeping criminal immunity protections.
17% : "At the start of the Friday sentencing hearing, Manhattan prosecutor Joshua Steinglass condemned the former and future president, saying he "engaged in a coordinated campaign to undermine" the legitimacy of the trial that Trump faced seven months Emil Bove and "caused enduring damage to public perception of the criminal justice system.

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