Trump, who was found guilty of committing 34 felonies, is first ever US president to face a criminal trial and sentencing

Donald Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in his New York hush-money case on Friday, marking both a dramatic and anticlimactic development in historic criminal proceedings weeks before he assumes the presidency.

Trump, whose presidential inauguration is scheduled for 20 January, is the first US president – former or sitting – to face a criminal trial, let alone a guilty verdict and subsequent sentencing. But the judge presiding over Trump’s case, Juan Merchan, has strongly implied that Trump will not face any meaningful consequences for committing 34 felony counts in an effort to tilt the 2016 election in his favor.