CNN
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Donald Trump was convicted without penalty in New York’s hush-money trial on Friday, after a symbolic – and historic and unprecedented – hearing following the first felony conviction of a former and soon-to-be president.

Judge Juan Merchan spoke to Trump for several minutes, telling the president-elect that it is the office of the president – and not the holder – who is granted extraordinary legal protections that require him to impose an unconditional dismissal without penalty.

Trump chose to speak before Merchan handed down his sentence, showing no remorse and launching the same attacks on the “political witch hunt” he has claimed since he was first indicted more than 20 months ago.

Trump was convicted in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records. While he has vowed to continue to challenge the conviction in the appeals courts, Friday’s verdict underscores the fact that in 10 days, Trump will become the first convicted felon to become president.

Here’s what you should know from the hearing:

Merchan has already signaled that he will not sentence Trump to any punishment, let alone prison. The US Supreme Court made this determination when it allowed the hearing to continue on Thursday evening with a 5-4 ruling over Trump’s objections.

But that didn’t make Friday’s sentencing any less significant or embarrassing for Trump, who was allowed to appear virtually from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

During Friday’s sentencing, Trump railed for several minutes against everyone involved in the case – the prosecutors, the judge, Michael Cohen and more – and claimed he had been treated unfairly.

“That was a very terrible experience,” Trump once said.

Trump concluded his speech by noting that voters put him back in office and even highlighted the fact that he won all seven swing states and the popular vote.

Voters “followed your process so they understood it,” the president-elect said, suggesting that the case helped him return to the White House.

Merchan did not criticize Trump’s conduct at the sentencing, but instead focused on the judge’s difficult task of imposing a sentence and the legal reasons why he did not impose a sentence in this case.

Merchan noted that the circumstances of this case were exceptional, but said that after the courtroom doors closed, it would proceed like any other trial in the New York court system.

And Merchan made it clear that it was the office of the president — and not Trump himself — that had its hands tied over a verdict in the hush money case.

“It is the legal protection afforded to the office of president of the United States that is exceptional, not whoever holds the office,” the judge said.

Prosecutors agreed with Merchan’s decision to sentence Trump to an unconditional discharge, but Assistant District Attorney Josh Steinglass accused Trump of violating the rule of law with his conduct before and after the jury’s verdict in May.

Steinglass noted that the probation officer who interviewed Trump for a probation report before sentencing wrote that Trump “puts himself above the law.”

“Instead of expressing any kind of remorse for his criminal behavior,” Steinglass added, “Trump encouraged others to reject the jury’s verdict.”

“This defendant has caused lasting damage to the public perception of the criminal justice system,” Steinglass said.

The unconditional discharge ruling cements the president-elect’s status as a convicted felon, although Trump now walks free from the case without facing any punishment, fines or probation.

The ruling essentially serves as the final verdict in the case, allowing Trump and his lawyers to move forward with his appeals.

They argue that last summer’s Supreme Court ruling granting broad presidential immunity means the case should be dismissed. Although the hush money payments in question occurred in 2016, before Trump became president, some of the evidence used against him came from his time in office, particularly from conversations with witness Hope Hicks.

Steinglass emphasized that “the jury’s verdict in this case was unanimous and decisive and must be respected.”

Merchan pointed to the legal protections of the presidency – but said there was a big caveat.

“One power they do not grant is the power to overturn a jury verdict,” Merchan said.

How the American public would have reacted or voted if Trump had been convicted will always remain a speculative question.

Trump’s sentencing was originally scheduled for July 11, but this date was postponed several times after the Supreme Court’s decision granted extensive presidential immunity.

Ultimately, sentencing was delayed until after the election, resulting in Trump’s victory wiping out any real threat of legal punishment, both in the hush-money case and in his federal indictments.

Merchan did not face a prison sentence — and legal experts debated whether the low-level crimes for which Trump was convicted would have warranted it — but the crimes carried a maximum prison sentence of four years, so the judge would have had that option. He could also have imposed lesser sentences such as house arrest or community service.

Speculation about what Merchan would have done if Trump had been convicted in July, or if Friday’s hearing had taken place after Trump was a defeated presidential candidate, may ultimately have been lost to history. When Merchan spoke to Trump on Friday and handed down his punishment, he didn’t mince his words.

Although the president-elect will not be punished in the hush money trial, he has made it clear that he wants the ruling overturned.

“We will still appeal, just psychologically, because frankly it’s a disgrace. “It’s a judge who shouldn’t be on the case,” Trump said Thursday evening from Mar-a-Lago.

Trump’s lawyers are expected to exhaust all legal options to continue fighting the conviction while he is in office – a process that is likely to take years. Now that Merchan has issued a final verdict on the conviction, Trump’s legal team can appeal to the state appeals court.

However, Trump’s top defenders are expected to join his administration. Todd Blanche, who sat next to Trump on Friday, was named deputy attorney general. And Emil Bove, who appeared in the Manhattan courtroom on Trump’s behalf, was chosen as deputy attorney general.

If the lower appeals court upholds the jury’s verdict, Trump can then ask the appeals court, New York’s highest court, to review his case. If his appeals fail in New York, he can take his case to the U.S. Supreme Court – a move he is expected to pursue if all other efforts fail.