A Manhattan judge sentenced Donald Trump to no penalty on Friday, January 10 on his conviction for concealing a “hush money” payoff that hid a sex scandal from voters making the president-elect the first person convicted of a felony to assume the White House.

Justice Juan Merchan who oversaw a trial in which jurors heard evidence that Trump paid off porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal to keep them quiet about alleged sexual meet ups sentenced Trump to an “unconditional discharge.”

“Sir, I wish you Godspeed as you assume a second term in office,” Merchan said.

The decision means the president-elect will not face any jail time, probation, or fines.

The sentencing which Trump, 78, attended remotely on video appearing on screen from Florida in front of two American flags, means the soon-to-be 47th commander-in-chief will have the historic distinction of being the only US president ever to be convicted of felony criminal charges.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is now the first prosecutor to put an American president on trial.

Ahead of the sentencing, Trump blasted the case as an “injustice” and reiterated his claims it was all a “witch hunt.”

“This is a case that should have never been brought, it’s an injustice, of justice,” he railed

“The fact is, I’m totally innocent, I did nothing wrong.”

He then ripped the trial as an “embarrassment to New York.”

“I got indicted after calling a legal expense a legal expense. I want to say it’s an embarrassment to New York,” Trump seethed.

“I would just like to explain that I was treated very unfairly, and I thank you very much.”

Meanwhile, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass insisted that the verdict in this case was “unanimous and decisive” and that it “must be respected.”

He then blasted the future president using “dangerous rhetoric” throughout the trial, referencing Trump’s threats on the judge and prosecutors.

“Such threats are designed to have a chilling effect, to intimate folks, who have a responsibility to enforce our laws…. Because they fear he is simply too powerful to be held to the same rule of law as the rest of us,” Steinglass said.

“Put simply, this defendant has caused enduring damage to public perception of the justice system and has placed officers of the court in harm’s way.”

Bragg’s star witness was Michael Cohen, a disbarred attorney and convicted perjurer who spent more than a decade as Trump’s personal lawyer.

Jurors saw evidence that Trump worked with Cohen and the National Enquirer magazine to buy up the rights to and bury damaging information about him, like Daniels’ tale about a brief sexual encounter and McDougal’s account of having a months-long affair with Trump.

“What do we got to pay for this? One-fifty?” Trump told Cohen in a secretly made recording, appearing to reference a $150,000 payoff to McDougal.

The prosecution centered on evidence that then-President Trump in 2017 lied on his company’s records to cover up Cohen’s $130,000 payoff that temporarily silenced Daniels from speaking about having sex with Trump in 2006.

The payoff came on the eve of the 2016 presidential election, Cohen told jurors.

‘Absolutely. Do it. Take care of it.’’ Cohen testified.

Cohen also admitted to serially lying on Trump’s behalf and brazenly stealing $60,000 from his former boss — but insisted that he let Trump know in advance about paying off Daniels because “I wanted the money back.”

Falsifying business records is a misdemeanor but doing it to cover up another crime is a felony.

Authorities are investigating a possible act of terror in Las Vegas after a Tesla Cybertruck parked near the Trump International Hotel exploded Wednesday, Jan. 1, leaving one dead and seven injured.

The vehicle was rented in Colorado and arrived in Las Vegas around 7:30 a.m. PT, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a news conference.

The driver of the vehicle, who has not yet been named by authorities, drove the vehicle up and down Las Vegas Boulevard before pulling in front of the Trump hotel around 8:40 a.m.

The vehicle sat there about 15 seconds before the explosion went off, McMahill said.

Police later discovered gasoline canisters, camp fuel canisters, and large firework mortars in the back of the vehicle. The sole individual in the truck d!ed.

The explosion occurred hours after the deadly attack involving a truck in New Orleans on New Year’s Day.

President Joe Biden said federal authorities are investigating whether there may be a link between the fatal truck assault and the explosion in Las Vegas.

“We’re tracking the explosion of a Cybertruck outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas,” Biden said in his public remarks. “Law enforcement and the intelligence community are investigating this as well, including whether there’s any possible connection with the attack in New Orleans.”

Jeremy Schwartz, acting Special Agent in Charge for the FBI in Las Vegas, said the incident at the Trump hotel is being investigated through the bureau’s joint terrorism task force.

“Our number one goal is to ensure that we have the proper identification of the subject involved in this incident,” Schwartz said. “Following that, our second objective is to determine whether this was an act of terrorism or not.”

Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has vowed that his country would use 2025 to fight for an end to Russia’s nearly three-year-long invasion by any means necessary.

Zelensky’s address caps a difficult year for the country which has been fending off a better-resourced Russian army for nearly three years.

The Ukrainian leader, in an address to the nation just before the clock struck midnight in Kyiv, said may 2025 be their year.

“We know that peace will not be given to us as a gift but we will do everything to stop Russia and end the war,” he said.

Since the war began, Ukraine has lost seven times more territory to Russia in 2024 than in 2023, and is facing the possibility of a reduction in US military and political backing when Donald Trump takes over the White House

Recall that incumbent US President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled almost $6 billion in military and budget aid for Ukraine on Monday in a race to support Kyiv before president-elect, Donald Trump, takes office in January.

Trump has promised to end the conflict in 24 hours once in power, raising fears in Ukraine that it will be forced to give up all the land the Kremlin currently controls in exchange for peace.

Zelensky, in his New Year address, said that Ukraine had to continue to fight to gain the upper hand both on the battlefield and ahead of any prospective peace talks.

“Every day in the coming year, I, and all of us, must fight for a Ukraine that is strong enough,” the Ukrainian leader said.