Justice Juan M. Merchan gave Donald J. Trump a symbolic punishment. The judge said that leniency was due the office of the president, not the man who will soon hold the title.

The rare and lenient sentence, which will spare President-elect Donald J. Trump jail time, was used to address his unusual status.

Friday’s punishment was largely symbolic, but it ensured that Donald J. Trump would become America’s first felon president.

President-elect Donald J. Trump is trying to expunge his conviction before he is inaugurated. He would be the first felon elected to the Oval Office.

A Manhattan judge has already indicated that he will spare Donald J. Trump from jail time, but the president-elect is seeking to avoid the symbolic blow of the criminal proceeding.

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.