Exactly what Donald Trump said in court as he dodges jail in hush money trial

President-elect Donald Trump, 78, told Judge Juan Merchan he is 'totally innocent' and did 'nothing wrong' as he was sentenced in New York in his hush money trial

Donald Trump has been sentenced in New York but avoided jail in his hush money trial.

The President-elect, 78, did not appear in court in New York City in person on Friday, but made a brief virtual appearance from his home in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump, wearing a dark suit and seated next to one of his lawyers with an American flag in the background, appeared on a video screen as he again insisted he did not commit a crime.

He made a seven-word declaration about his 34 convictions stemming from the trial, as he told Judge Juan Merchan: "I'm totally innocent. I did nothing wrong." He added: "It's been a political witch hunt. It was done to damage my reputation so that I would lose the election, and obviously, that didn't work."

He also went on to describe the case as "a weaponisation of government" and "an embarrassment to New York." Lawyers for the President-elect are working on an appeal for the case, but until then, Trump got an unconditional discharge for 34 counts of falsifying business records by Judge Merchan at today's sentencing - despite his pleas of innocence.

"At this time I impose that sentence to cover all 34 counts," Merchan told the court, before wishing Trump god speed for his second term in office. This makes Trump, a Republican, the first person convicted of a felony to assume the presidency.

The case accused Trump of falsifying his business records to hide a $130,000 (£106,230) payoff to porn actor Stormy Daniels. She was paid late in Trump's 2016 campaign to keep her from telling the public about a sexual encounter she says the two had a decade earlier. He says nothing sexual happened between them, and he contends that his political adversaries spun up a bogus prosecution to try to damage him.

"I never falsified business records. It is a fake, made up charge," the Republican president-elect wrote on his Truth Social platform last week. Trump reiterated these thoughts as he spoke from a video screen in court today, saying: "This has been a very terrible experience. I think it has been a tremendous set back for New York and the New York court system."

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass condemned Trump's attacks on the legal system throughout and after the case, saying: "The once and future President of the United States has engaged in a coordinated campaign to undermine its legitimacy." He said that rather than show remorse, Trump had "bred disdain" for the jury verdict and the criminal justice system and his calls for retaliation against those involved in the case, including demanding the judge to be disbarred, "has caused enduring damage to public perception of the criminal justice system and has put officers of the court in harm's way."

Trump's trial stretched over seven weeks, with 22 witnesses testifying, including Stormy Daniels, Trump's fixer turned foe Michael Cohen, former supermarket tabloid publisher David Pecker and White House insiders. Daniels alleges she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, which Trump still denies, along with any misconduct.

A conditional discharge would have required Trump to meet certain conditions, like maintaining employment or paying restitution, but he will not be subject to any requirements in the future. Today's hearing went ahead after the US Supreme Court rejected Trump's effort to dismiss the criminal case against him on Thursday, clearing the path for his sentencing.

The trial, brought by New York prosecutors, stemmed from the payment to Daniels during the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign, which lawyers said was part of a scheme to silence her allegations of a sexual encounter with Trump. The adult actress claims she slept with Trump after a 2006 Lake Tahoe golf tournament as his wife, Melania, was at home nursing Trump's newborn son, Barron. The businessman denied her allegations.