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.

The US president-elect was convicted for falsifying business records relating to a payment made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels.

AP Photo/ Reba Saldahna, FILEBy Adam Reiss and Dareh Gregorian The New York judge who presided over Donald Trump’s hush money case on Friday sentenced the president-elect to an “unconditional discharge,

President-elect Donald Trump was formally sentenced Friday in his hush money case, but the judge declined to impose any punishment. The outcome cements Trump’s conviction while freeing him to return to the White House unencumbered by the threat of a jail term or a fine.

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.

Trump has been sentenced in his historic hush money case. He appeared in court via video link from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Speaking in front of a US flag, he hit out at the conviction.