President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced in New York on Jan. 10, more than six months after being found guilty by a Manhattan jury of falsifying business records. When speaking in court for the first time, he declared his innocence. Justice Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to unconditional release, which means he will not face any prison time or penalties. In handing down the sentence, Merchan noted that Trump is the president-elect and will soon take office. Although Trump fought the sentencing in court, Merchan could have sentenced him to up to four years in prison. In May 2024, Trump was found guilty by a Manhattan jury on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to payments made during the 2016 election campaign to a woman who claimed she had an affair with him about a decade earlier. He pleaded not guilty and categorically denied the affair allegations, stressing that the payments were merely recorded as legal expenses….