The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday refused to delay Donald Trump’s future sentencing in his hush money case.
President Trump had asked the nation’s highest legal body to reverse Friday’s ruling after a New York court refused to postpone it.
Last May, Judge Juan Marchan falsified business records in a criminal hush-money scheme aimed at influencing the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, which Trump won over Democrat Hillary Clinton. He presided over Trump’s trial and conviction on several felony charges.
The Supreme Court’s nine justices on Thursday rejected by a 5-4 majority the president-elect’s last-minute bid to block the sentencing, scheduled for Friday at 9:30 a.m. local time in New York state court in Manhattan. It was rejected.
Chief Justice John Roberts and fellow conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett join liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson in voting for Trump. The majority of the court rejected the request.
Trump initially pleaded not guilty in the case. In this case, the court found that adult film actor Stormy Daniels made a payment to her just before the 2016 election to stop her from disclosing an alleged affair several years ago, and then tried to disguise the payment. I heard that it did.
Mr. Marchand has indicated he does not intend to impose any prison terms, fines or suspended sentences, but Mr. Trump’s lawyers have argued that a felony conviction would still distract Mr. Marchand, who is about to take office in just over a week. He claimed that it would cause intolerable side effects.
The Supreme Court is dominated by conservative justices, three of whom were appointed by Trump during his first term as president. President Trump’s emergency motion for the court to be filed with Mayor Soto will hear an emergency appeal from New York.
In issuing its decision, the court’s brief order late Thursday cited two reasons: “First, the alleged evidentiary violations in President-elect Trump’s state court trial will be addressed through the normal appellate process. I can do that.”
Furthermore, “Second, given the trial court’s intent to impose a sentence of ‘unconditional release’ after a short virtual hearing, the burden that sentencing imposes on the president-elect’s liability is relatively light.” added.
Marchand said last week that he did not intend to sentence Trump to prison and that he would likely be granted unconditional release. This means the conviction will remain on Mr. Trump’s record and he will remain a felon, but he will avoid punishment in the form of jail time, fines, or probation.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh said they would grant Trump’s request.
President Trump has filed a lawsuit in state court to resolve the issue of presidential immunity following a highly controversial Supreme Court ruling last July that granted former presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution for acts of official conduct. We are proceeding with an appeal, but its scope is open to legal interpretation.
“I read it and I actually think it’s a fair decision,” Trump said in remarks from his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, following the court order.
He later wrote on his social media platforms: “Due to the sanctity of the President, I intend to appeal this case and am confident that justice will prevail.”
Trump’s lawyers have argued throughout that the prosecution was a flawed case motivated by political opposition to the former and future Republican president.
The Supreme Court took action after the New York State Supreme Court earlier Thursday rejected President Trump’s request to halt the sentencing.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office argued in a filing that President Trump is not entitled to Supreme Court intervention.
Mr. Bragg’s office initially falsely recorded reimbursements made to Mr. Daniels by Mr. Trump as “legal fees” after Mr. Trump paid Mr. Daniels $130,000 to keep his former lawyer Michael Cohen quiet. Trump was indicted on suspicion of doing so.
Prosecutors have argued that the tampering was done to conceal that Mr. Trump violated New York state election law, which makes it a crime to promote someone’s election through illegal means.
Prosecutors say the $130,000 paid to Daniels was essentially an illegal campaign contribution, made for the benefit of President Trump’s campaign, and exceeded the legal individual contribution limit of $2,700. He said these were illegal means.
Trump is the only current or former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime.
Report contributed by Reuters
