Breaking…Donald J. Trump REMAINS a Convicted Felon….

“Never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances,” said the judge overseeing the case, Juan M. Merchan. “This has been truly an extraordinary case.”

The judge then imposed a so-called unconditional discharge of Mr. Trump’s sentence, a rare and lenient alternative to jail or probation. Explaining the leniency, Justice Merchan acknowledged Mr. Trump’s inauguration 10 days hence.

“Donald Trump the ordinary citizen, Donald Trump the criminal defendant” would not be entitled to the protections of the presidency, Justice Merchan asserted, explaining that only the office shields him from the verdict’s gravity.

The judge then wished Mr. Trump “godspeed” and departed the bench.

Mr. Trump appeared virtually, his scowl projected onto a screen in a chilly yet bright Lower Manhattan courtroom filled with reporters, sketch artists and courtroom personnel. He was at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, seated along with one of his lawyers in front of a pair of large American flags.

“This has been a very terrible experience,” Mr. Trump said during the hearing, adding: “The fact is, I’m totally innocent.”…

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Once the jury convicted Mr. Trump on all 34 felony counts in May, the former and future president fought tooth and nail to avoid the spectacle of a sentencing.

Here’s what to know about Mr. Trump’s sentencing:

• The case: After a seven-week trial last spring, a jury of 12 New Yorkers convicted Mr. Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The case arose from a 2016 hush-money payment to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, who was selling her story of a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump. Had she gone public, Ms. Daniels might have triggered a scandal in the final days of Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign. Mr. Trump, the jury concluded, reimbursed his fixer, Michael D. Cohen, for the hush money and then directed that records be falsified to keep the payment under wraps.

• The punishment: Mr. Trump had faced up to four years in prison, but his election victory made incarceration a practical and constitutional impossibility. And while a conditional discharge would have required Mr. Trump to meet certain requirements, like maintaining employment or paying restitution, the unconditional discharge he is likely to receive comes with no strings attached.

• A surprising decision: This month, Mr. Trump’s lawyers filed repeated requests in New York State Court to halt the proceeding, all of which failed, leading him to seek an emergency reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court. But the high court on Thursday denied Mr. Trump’s request, a surprising show of independence from a court that has appeared sympathetic to Mr. Trump in other cases.