US Supreme Court Rejects Trump Bid To Halt Hush Money Sentencing
President-elect Donald Trump’s last-minute request to halt sentencing in his hush-money case was denied by the US Supreme Court on Thursday.
The top court, which includes three justices appointed by Trump, rejected his emergency application seeking to block Friday’s sentencing by a 5-4 vote.
The court, in a brief unsigned order, said the “burden that sentencing will impose on the President-Elect’s responsibilities is relatively insubstantial” and noted that Trump will be allowed to attend virtually.
The court also noted that Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the hush money case, has already said he plans to impose a sentence of “unconditional discharge”, which does not carry any jail time, fine or probation.
READ ALSO: Trump Says Arranging Meeting With Putin
After being found guilty by a New York jury in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, Trump will receive a sentence in Manhattan on Friday at 9:30 am (1430 GMT).
Trump, 78, will be the first former president to be found guilty of a crime and will be the first person to have served in the White House.
In a post on Truth Social following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Trump praised Merchan for “trying to remedy the great injustice done to me” and attacked him for being “highly political and corrupt.”
“I am innocent of all of the Judge’s made-up, fake charges”, he said, adding that he will continue to pursue appeals of the guilty verdict in the hush money case.
On Wednesday, Trump requested an urgent hearing with the nine-member Supreme Court to stop the sentence.
Four conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh — were in favour of granting Trump’s request.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, also conservatives, joined the court’s three liberal justices in rejecting the president-elect’s effort.
Barrett, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh were appointed by Trump.
– ‘ Grave injustice ‘ –
Trump’s lawyers made several legal maneuvers in an effort to fend off sentencing, arguing that it would be a “grave injustice” and harm “the institution of the presidency and the operations of the federal government”.
Additionally, Trump’s attorneys argued that a president-elect should receive president-electual immunity from prosecution.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg rejected their arguments in his response on Thursday, saying Trump was a private citizen when he was “charged, tried, and convicted”.
He claimed that the defendant makes the unheard claim that the temporary presidential immunity he will have will eventually fully immunize him weeks before he even takes the oath of office.
Bragg added that the Supreme Court “lacks jurisdiction” over a state court’s handling of an ongoing criminal trial, and that the top court’s decision to prevent sentencing would be an “extraordinary step.”
The Supreme Court stated that Trump could still file an appeal of his conviction in the New York state courts after the sentence was set to expire.
Merchan indicated last week that he was considering a conditional release that would not involve jail time for Trump. He also agreed to allow the president-elect to attend Friday’s sentencing virtually instead of in person.
Trump could face up to four years in prison, but legal experts didn’t anticipate Merchan’s release until he won the November presidential election.
Trump was , certified as the winner , of the 2024 presidential election on Monday, four years after his supporters rioted at the US Capitol as he sought to overturn his 2020 defeat.
Source: Channels TV
Leave a Reply