The Supreme Court on Thursday denied President-elect Donald Trump’s request to stay his sentencing in the Manhattan “hush money” case.
In a 5-4 decision, the high court ruled that the “burden” the sentencing would impose on Trump’s White House transition responsibilities would be minimal and that any complaints the president-elect has with “evidentiary violations” in the case could be dealt with by lower courts.
“First, the alleged evidentiary violations at President-Elect Trump’s state-court trial can be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal,” the ruling stated, laying out the first of two reasons why the incoming president’s petition was denied.
“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.”
Trump’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Friday morning, and as the high court noted, Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan has already announced that the president-elect will face a no-punishment sentence.
Chief Justice John Roberts and fellow conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the three liberal justices – Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson – in the majority.
Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh sided with Trump in the minority.
Trump’s lawyers urged the nation’s highest court to step in on Wednesday after a New York appeals court refused to postpone the sentencing hearing.
The president-elect’s attorneys argued that going ahead with the sentencing would unconstitutionally interfere with Trump preparing for his second term.
