NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced Friday in his hush money case, but the judge declined to impose any punishment, an outcome that cements his conviction but frees him to return to the White House unencumbered by the threat of a jail term or a fine.

In a singular moment in US history, President-elect Donald Trump will be sentenced for his hush-money conviction after the nation’s highest court refused to intervene.

A glum Donald Trump appeared virtually Friday at his sentencing for covering up hush money paid to a porn star, forcing him to revisit his felony conviction just days before he returns to the White House.

In the first test of how receptive the court may be to Trump, 4 of the court's 6 conservative members said they would have granted his emergency request.

The high court’s action clears the way for the president-elect to be sentenced for his criminal conviction in Manhattan on Friday.

A New York appeals court judge Tuesday denied Donald Trump's bid for an emergency order halting the president-elect's scheduled sentencing Friday on criminal charges in the hush money case.