President-elect Donald Trump’s request to delay his sentencing in the hush money case brought against him in New York was denied Thursday evening by the U.S. Supreme Court, per an order shared to social media by SCOTUSBlog.
This order said that the application for stay was denied by Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Justice Amy Coney Barrett. It would have been granted by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. Often, Coney Barrett – a Trump appointee – makes up a conservative voting block with Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.
Per the order, the stay was denied because “the alleged evidentiary violations at President-Elect Trump’s state-court trial can be addressed in the ordinary course of appeal” and “the burden that sentencing will impose on the President-Elect’s responsibilities is relatively unsubstantial in light of the trial court’s stated intent to impose a sentence of ‘unconditional discharge’ after a brief virtual hearing.”
Audacy reported Wednesday that Trump’s lawyers turned to the nation’s highest court after New York courts refused to postpone the sentencing by Juan M. Merchan, the judge who presided over Trump’s trial and conviction last May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. These charges are linked to payments allegedly made to cover up an alleged affair Trump had with adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Trump’s team argued that the sentencing would interfere with his work to prepare for the Oval Office. He is set to be sworn in less than two weeks.
So, what’s next?
Over the weekend, Trump called for Merchan to be disbarred after it was announced that sentencing would begin this Friday. However, Merchan has reportedly indicated that he will not sentence the incoming president to jail time and an earlier decision by the Supreme Court regarding presidential immunity may impact the sentencing.
Trump’s sentencing hearing is set for Friday at 9:30 a.m. ET. CBS News reported that Merchan offered Trump an option to attend the sentencing virtually and that Trump accepted the virtual option.
“Speaking to reporters from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, where the president-elect is meeting with Republican governors, Trump said he still plans to appeal the case, despite that the sentencing will lack jail time,” CBS News also reported.
However, Trump also said that he thought the court’s decision was “fair.”
“So I’ll do my little thing tomorrow. They can have fun with their political opponent,” Trump said. He addressed the order on Truth Social Thursday night as well.