Supreme Court Denies Trump’s Request to Halt Hush Money Sentencing
President-elect Donald Trump’s sentencing in the New York City hush money case will go forward on Friday since the Supreme Court won’t block it.
The ruling was 5-4. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney-Barrett voted with Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
The application for stay presented to Justice Sotomayor and by her referred to the Court is denied for, inter alia, the following reasons. First, the alleged evidentiary violations at President-Elect Trump’s state-court trial can be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal. Second, the burden that sentencing will impose on the President-Elect’s responsibilities is relatively insubstantial in light of the trial court’s stated intent to impose a sentence of “unconditional discharge” after a brief virtual hearing.
A jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts for falsifying business records to pay off Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about their alleged affair.
Judge Juan Merchan refused to throw out the guilty verdict, scheduling the sentencing for January 10, ten days before the inauguration.
However, Merchan hinted that Trump won’t face any punishment.
Merchan said it’s “proper at this juncture” to inform everyone that it’s the “Court’s inclination to not impose any sentence of incarceration, a sentence authorized by the conviction but one the People concede they no longer view as a practicable recommendation.”
“As such; in balancing the aforementioned considerations in conjunction with the underlying concerns of the Presidential immunity doctrine, a sentence of an unconditional discharge appears to be the most viable solution to ensure finality and allow Defendant to pursue his appellate options,” Merchan added.
The lawyers asked Merchan to stay the sentencing because Trump appealed the judge’s decision.
Trump’s lawyers claimed the appeal automatically triggers a stay.
When Merchan and an appeals court said no, Trump went to the Supreme Court.
So Merchan will sentence Trump. Even if he doesn’t receive punishment, he’ll be a felon.
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