cnn's kara scannell is outside the court. what do you expect today? kara? >> well, john, as you said, after numerous attempts to try to stop this sentence, it will go forward as scheduled. >> and in just a short while from now, this hearing will get underway. >> it's expected to take about one hour. >> and how it will play out is that donald trump is not going to appear here in person, like he did during the course of the trial. >> he is going to appear virtually. so inside the courtroom, there will be television screens where donald trump will be appearing and able to face the judge for the sentencing. the prosecution will go first. they'll make their arguments to the judge. then donald trump's lawyers will have an opportunity to speak. and then donald trump himself can address the judge. as you know, he's been very critical of this judge, very critical of the prosecution. it's unclear if he's going to say anything, but he will be given the chance to do that. after that, judge juan merchan will deliver his sentence. and as you said, he's already indicated

let's go to cnn's kara scannell. kara, what is the judge in the case saying? >> yeah. jake. so the judge is sending sentencing donald trump on january 10th. >> but the judge is also saying that given the practical considerations of this issue, that it's ten days before donald trump is about to be sworn in as the next president of the united states, that he says that he is likely he says, you know, he's inclined to not sentence trump to any incarceration, and that his sentence would be one of unconditional discharge, which in real language means that there wouldn't be any sort of penalty. there would be no time served in any jail or prison. there would be no probation that trump would be required to abide by. it would just be that the case is over, the judgment is entered, and that would allow trump to then begin to try to appeal the conviction itself. you know, he has been taking all these steps to try to get the verdict thrown out, to try to get the indictment dismissed. and the judge, judge juan merchan, has repeatedly dismissed those efforts, including today. but he's now

i do want to go to kara scannell. she is just coming out of the courthouse. kara, if you can help us out for a moment, we were just looking at these images of trump and his attorney on that flat screen in the courtroom. and at one point, you could see trump pointing his finger at the camera. can you tell us what was going on there? can you give us sort of a ringside view of what was taking place? >> so that photo was taken by the photographers just before the proceeding got underway. they were allowed to come in to take photos of the defendant. so at that point, it was a lighter moment before the seriousness of today's events got underway. but as you could see, that is what the judge saw when he was sentencing trump, when he looked toward the video screen, he saw trump there on the right next to his attorney, todd blanche, and that was broadcast into the courtroom, as well as views of the prosecution table and the judge. now, as i'm sure you've been talking about, donald trump did speak for about six minutes. he said that this was very terrible. he went on abo

cnn's kara scannell is joining us from outside of the court and waiting for this to begin. kara. if he's not facing jail time and he's not facing fines or penalties, what will the consequences be? what will the judge be deciding today? >> well, sarah, right. he will not face jail time. he will not face probation or any fines, but he will have the stigma of being the first american president who is a convicted felon. and that is what we will see play out today when this hearing does get underway. it's only expected to last about an hour. donald trump will not be here in person, as he was throughout the criminal trial, but he will be appearing virtually on a screen that will appear inside the courtroom. so he'll be participating that way. we expect the prosecution will speak first. talk about the seriousness of the offense, the charges, the conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up those hush money payments. and then we expect to hear from donald trump's lawyers and what they will say to the judge. then there will be the opportunity for donald trump

let's bring in cnn's kara scannell in new york and cnn's katelyn polantz here in studio to discuss the latest twists and turns in these legal dramas. and, kara, you were in court today for trump's sentencing. what was that like? >> so donald trump did appear virtually in the courtroom. that was a choice that the judge allowed him to have. he also said that he wanted to speak. that was something that he didn't have to do. and in speaking, trump repeated some of the same lines that we've heard before. he said that he was totally innocent, that this was a political witch hunt, and he said that the american voters had watched this trial and they reelected him, which was the american voters decision about this case. now, the judge, when he handed down his sentence, he's sitting at the bench and he looked toward the screen that had trump and his attorney, todd blanche, projected on it. he addressed the video screen, telling trump that there were certain legal protections that came with the office of the presidency, but that was with the office, not the occupant. as the judge was explaining w

kara scannell was inside the courtroom for the hearing. kara, tell us what you observed. >> i mean, as you see, that still photo that we've shown of donald trump sitting side by side with his attorney, todd blanche, that is what the judge was looking at when he was addressing trump, when he was delivering that sentence. it was also put up in the courtroom and the overflow courtroom with boxes with both the judge, donald trump, his attorney, who in the courtroom didn't speak, and the prosecution team who did address the judge. so the whole scene there, you know, this was the trial that donald trump was at every single day. today, the judge had given him the option to appear virtually, and he did for mar-a-lago. but when trump was speaking, that monitor was positioned facing the judge. and when the judge was addressing donald trump, he had sitting on the bench, but he had shifted in his seat. so he was speaking directly to the monitor, directly to donald trump as he handed down that sentence. i mean, this is also for a trial that has captured

. >> cnn's kara scannell was inside that courtroom, and she joins us now. kara, what was that like dana, really an extraordinary moment. >> donald trump had been at every single day of this criminal trial. but today, the day of his sentencing, which he fought so hard to try to stop, he appeared on a video screen. it was set up in the courtroom. and when trump delivered those statements to the judge, judge juan merchan, who was sitting on the bench, had turned, was facing the monitor, watching trump as he sat beside his attorney, todd blanche, and delivered those statements. and then the judge delivered his sentence. he also continued to look at that monitor as he spoke to the president elect and explained to him that he could have sentenced him from as much as one and a third to four years in prison on each count. but he emphasized, as you noted, that trump is now reelected to the office of the presidency, and that weight those legal obligations and benefits that he receives heading into that office is what guided his sentence. llevar a cabo un precio. >> it

. >> kara scannell, thank you so much for this reporting. brand new hour of cnn news central starts right now. >> this morning, we're standing by for high stakes confirmation hearings today for six of donald trump's key cabinet picks. first in the hot seat, attorney general nominee pam bondi, a staunch defender of trump's election, lies and the wind gusts expected to intensify once again near los angeles today, likely fueling fires and making it harder for firefighters to battle the flames. some of those on the front lines, inmates turned firefighters a look at the controversy surrounding the help they provide. and will tiktok go completely dark in the u.s.? new reports. the app owner is ready to shut it all down on sunday unless the supreme court stops the federal ban going way further than people thought the app would. i'm sara sidner with kate bolduan and john berman. this is cnn news central. >> and it is another busy day ahead, especially on capitol hill, as six cabinet nominees are now preparing to face questions in front of the senate

as you note, paula, i want to bring in reporter kara scannell right outside the court. if we could just put up those pictures again showing trump, if you would help us understand what's going on in these pictures where we see donald trump next to his attorney, todd blanche. >> so those pictures were taken at the very start of the hearing before the judge was even on the bench. that's something that the court allows still photographers to come in and take photos of the defendants because they don't allow cameras in the courtroom. normally. it was highly unusual that we were even given the audio that we had just played and listened to, but that was something that a media coalition had worked out with the court. of course, the argument, because of the public's interest and one thing that you know, you can't see, but you can kind of piece together between that still shot and the audio is just what this scene was like. the judge is sitting on the bench. when trump did speak, it was that image of him side by side with his attorney that the that we, the members of the media sa

cnn's kara scannell is live for us right outside the court. take us through what happened in court. kara. >> so, pam, we just got that decision. the judge denying trump's request to postpone his sentencing scheduled for friday. now, this followed arguments from both trump's attorney, todd blanche, and the chief of appeals at the manhattan district attorney's office. much of the focus was on the question of presidential immunity, and the judge really narrowing in on this question of whether a president elect has immunity. she was very doubtful of that questioning. trump's attorney, blanch acknowledged that this was unprecedented, that they had no other cases to point to. and she noted that this sentencing is set for january 10th. that is still 12 days before trump would even be in office. she also was pointing out some other issues here about the actual timeline in this case, saying that the judge overseeing the trial could have sentenced trump in july, but it was because of trump's own requests for delays that we are now in this period where trump is president elect awaiting the sent

cnn's kara scannell is here with the details. >> good morning. >> good morning john.so sean "diddy" combs, his lawyers, want to amend the protective order so that they can actually get copies of these nine videos that were obtained from victim one's attorneys. >> now they've been able to view them, but they say they want copies because they want to do some forensic analysis, dig in and clear up the audio that they say is on them. >> now, this, though, is part of and the reason why is because diddy is saying, is that these videos would exonerate him. >> he writes in this filing to the judge, there is no evidence of any violence, coercion, threats or manipulation whatsoever. there is no evidence that anyone is incapacitated or under the influence of drugs or excessive alcohol consumption. there is certainly no evidence of sex trafficking. having reviewed these videos, it is now abundantly clear that they confirm mr. combs innocence. now, these are just a handful of the tapes, and these are nine. the prosecution says that they have dozens of tapes. they say that there's