12:30 Report — Trump avoids jailtime, fine in hush money case

12:30 REPORT

It’s finally Friday. The Washington, D.C., area may get another 1-2 inches of snow tonight! ❄️☃️ Ah, this is reminding me of living in New England. Here’s what’s happening today:

Trump now first former president sentenced for a felony.
Judge gives Trump no penalty in hush money conviction.
What happens now in president-elect’s legal battles?
The Supreme Court considers TikTok’s fate.
Trump team searches for a health threat to justify closing the border.

I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips to cmartel@thehill.com. Someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here. 

⚖️ Trump’s Sentencing

No jailtime or fine — but sentenced as a felon:

President-elect Trump was given no penalty in his New York hush money case this morning, but his felony conviction was cemented. Judge Juan Merchan decided to give Trump an unconditional discharge.

There are two ways to spin this:

Trump is the first president to be sentenced as a convicted felon.
Trump is free to go — no jailtime, fine or probation in his hush money case.

Did Trump attend the sentencing?: He appeared virtually in the roughly 40-minute hearing along with his lawyer Todd Blanche.

Keep in mind: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused Trump’s last-ditch attempt to postpone his sentencing. It was a split decision — Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined with the court’s three liberals to deny Trump’s request. The four other conservative justices sided with Trump.

Is this the end?: Probably not. Trump’s sentencing means he can now appeal his charges, which he has vowed to do.

What happens now?: “Trump is expected to appeal [Manhattan District Attorney Alvin] Bragg’s entire theory of the case in addition to his presidential immunity appeals that remain pending. But even a successful appeal would take months, if not years, to progress through the courts. And with Trump set to take office in less than two weeks, legal experts broadly agree that criminal prosecutions cannot proceed against a sitting president.” (The Hill)

Trump told the judge this morning that he is “totally innocent” and said his experience with the Manhattan criminal court system was “very terrible.”

🗨️ Follow today’s live blog of courtroom updates

💲IMMEDIATELY AFTER SENTENCING💲:

Trump sent out an email release trying to fundraise on his sentencing. “They’re trying to sabotage the Presidential Transition process. They’re trying to END the presidency as we know it — just before I take office,” Trump wrote.

🏛️ Happening Today

**The demographic of a Supreme Court livestream may be much younger today:**

The Supreme Court is hearing a case today to decide the fate of the popular social media app TikTok.

Lawyers for the company and the Department of Justice are making competing arguments for and against the app’s ban, which is set to go into effect Jan. 19.

The main question: Which triumphs—national security concerns or freedom of speech?

👍 The national security argument: Supporters of the ban are concerned about TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance. They worry it could share sensitive data from American users with the Chinese government. TikTok could also be weaponized by the China Communist Party to spread misinformation, critics fear.

👎 The freedom of speech argument: It’s an extremely popular app for Americans, and the ban would take away a platform for more than 170 million U.S. users. Critics of the law argue it violates Americans’ First Amendment rights. They also argue the national security threats are just hypothetical.

If nothing changes: TikTok will be banned on Jan. 19 unless ByteDance divests from the company.

That’s right around the corner: The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case by the end of next week.

Where does Trump stand on the ban?: President-elect Trump sympathizes with the platform and met with CEO Shou Zi Chew at Mar-a-Lago last month.

Scenarios:

The Supreme Court could determine the ban is unconstitutional.
Justices could delay the ban until after Trump takes office.
The high court could uphold the ban. In this scenario, the app could disappear from app stores Jan. 19.
President Biden could agree to delay the ban.

💻 Listen to the live oral arguments

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ORAL ARGUMENTS:

TikTok argues a divesture is very difficult to do: TikTok’s lawyer Noel Francisco argued it would be “exceedingly difficult” for ByteDance to feasibly divest from TikTok.

TikTok used Jeff Bezos as an argument: TikTok’s lawyer pointed to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owning The Washington Post as an example of why the law violates TikTok’s First Amendment rights.

“Suppose that China used its leverage over Jeff Bezos, his international empire, including his Chinese businesses, to force The Washington Post to write whatever China wanted on the front page of the Post,” Francisco said. “Surely the government couldn’t come in and say, 'Jeff Bezos, you need to either sell The Washington Post or shut it down.' ”

Justice Brett Kavanaugh presses TikTok on national security concerns: “I think Congress and the president were concerned that China was accessing information about millions of Americans … that they would use that information over time to develop spies, to turn people, to blackmail people, people who a generation from now will be working in the FBI or the CIA or in the State Department,” Kavanaugh said.

💉Trump Transition

Trump’s looking for an immigration loophole:

President-elect Trump’s advisers have been working for months to find a health threat that could justify his case for closing the U.S.-Mexico border, The New York Times’s Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Hamed Aleaziz report.

Trump was able to use that reason in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic: “As he prepares to enter office again, Mr. Trump has no such public health disaster to point to. Still, his advisers have spent recent months trying to find the right disease to build their case, according to four people familiar with the discussions. They have looked at tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases as options and have asked allies inside the Border Patrol for examples of illnesses that are being detected among migrants.”

The rule that would apply: Title 42, which can block people from entering the country due to a health threat.

Keep in mind: Trump’s incoming White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller “has long considered Title 42 a key tool for his goal of shuttering the border to migration. He has essentially been on a yearslong quest to find enough examples of diseases among migrants to justify the use of the law.”

Read the full reporting: ‘Inside Trump’s Search for a Health Threat to Justify His Immigration Crackdown’

TIDBIT:

Check out the latest cover of The New Yorker. It depicts tech billionaire Elon Musk getting sworn in on Inauguration Day with Trump in the background.

Trump wants his old digs back:

The Wall Street Journal’s Craig Karmin reports Trump’s “real-estate company is in talks to reclaim its former Washington, D.C., hotel, a move that could offer an early test of how the president-elect will handle potential conflicts of interest.”

Read the full reporting: ‘The Trumps Are in Talks to Reclaim Their Prized D.C. Hotel’

MORE READS:

The Washington Post: DOGE is dispatching agents across U.S. government

The Wall Street Journal: Rival Republican Factions Fight for Trump’s Approval

The Hill: Senate GOP fears land mines in House could derail Trump’s tax agenda

The New York Times: A Rebuke to Trump Provides a Telling Portrait of a Divided Supreme Court

🐝 Internet Buzz

🍫 Celebrate: Today is National Bittersweet Chocolate Day!

🏈 ☘️ That was a wild ending: Notre Dame’s football team advanced to the national title game last night in a wild game. 📹 Watch this clip

🪧 Macy’s and Kohl’s are closing some stores: Retailer Macy’s will be closing more than 60 stores this year, and retailer Kohl’s will close nearly 30 stores before April. 📝 List of affected stores

📆 On The Agenda

The House and Senate are out. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C. (all times Eastern)

1:30 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell brief reporters. 💻 Livestream
Noon Monday: The House returns.
3 p.m. Monday: The Senate returns. 📆 Today’s agenda

👋 And Finally…

To fully encapsulate how I’m feeling about the cold, watch this cat patiently wait for its turn on the heat vent.

Stay Engaged

Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com. A friend forward this to you? Subscribe here.

View past issues of 12:30 Report here and check out other newsletters from The Hill here. See you next week!

Topics

Trump avoids prison or fine in hush-money case sentencing

Donald Trump will still take office as the first US president with a felony conviction.
BBC News - 3h
Trump sentenced to unconditional discharge in New York hush money case, avoiding jail

The "unconditional discharge" sentence comes 10 days before Donald Trump is due to be sworn in for a second nonconsecutive term in the White House.
CNBC - 4h
Trump avoids punishment for hush-money conviction and calls case ‘terrible experience’

President-elect, who was found guilty of committing 34 felonies, sentenced to unconditional discharge in New York. Trump hush-money sentencing – latest updates Donald Trump will avoid jail ...
The Guardian - 5h
Trump becomes first president to be a sentenced felon but avoids jail time or fines in hush-money trial – live

President-elect claims historic case was ‘despicable charade’; judge says ‘unconditional discharge’ does not ‘reduce the seriousness of the crime’. Full report: Trump avoids punishment ...
The Guardian - 1h
Trump sentenced to "unconditional discharge" in New York "hush money" case | Special Report

President-elect Donald Trump has received a sentence of "unconditional discharge" for his New York state conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Norah O'Donnell anchored CBS News' ...
CBS News - 6h
Supreme Court Denies Trump’s Bid to Avoid Sentencing in Hush-Money Case

After the court declined in a 5-to-4 decision to block Donald J. Trump’s criminal sentencing, he is scheduled to face a New York judge on Friday morning.
The New York Times - 18h
Judge Upholds Trump’s Sentencing in Hush Money Case but Signals No Jail Time

The New York judge who oversaw President-elect Donald J. Trump’s hush-money trial scheduled his sentencing for Jan. 10. Mr. Trump is expected to appeal his conviction.
The New York Times - 6d
Judge in Trump hush money case expected to sentence him to 'unconditional discharge'

The judge in President-elect Donald Trump's New York criminal hush money case indicated Friday that he intends to sentence Trump to an "unconditional discharge."
ABC News - 6d
Trump ordered to appear for sentencing in New York "hush money" case | Special Report

A New York judge on Friday ordered President-elect Donald Trump to appear for sentencing in his New York criminal "hush money" case 10 days before his second inauguration. CBS News chief Washington ...
CBS News - Jan. 3