Donald Trump’s attempt to avoid sentencing for his criminal hush-money case has been rejected by the Supreme Court.
On Thursday, Jan. 9, the Supreme Court announced the “application for stay” regarding the president-elect, 78, has been denied.
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“First, the alleged evidentiary violations at President-Elect Trump’s state-court trial can be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal,” the memo said.
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Donald Trump, October 15, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois
“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,” the court added.
The Supreme Court’s vote was 5-4, with Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh voting to block Trump’s sentencing.
Trump previously argued that sentencing so close to his Jan. 20 inauguration would be a distraction from his presidential transition, the New York Times reported.
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Trump is expected to appear before New York’s Judge Juan M. Merchan for sentencing on Friday, Jan. 10, at 9:30 a.m. local time.
His legal team attempted to have Trump’s case dismissed several times since he was first convicted on May 30, to no avail.
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Donald Trump, election-night watch party at Mar-a-Lago on March 5, 2024
“I respect the court’s opinion,” Trump said at a Thursday night dinner with Republican governors at his private club in Florida, the Associated Press reported.
“I think it was actually a very good opinion for us because you saw what they said, but they invited the appeal and the appeal is on the bigger issue. So, we’ll see how it works out,” he continued, per the outlet.
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The “hush money” case stems from prosecutors alleging Trump tried to hide a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the final days of the 2016 presidential election. He is also accused of falsifying 34 business records to conceal a plot to influence the election.
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Trump has maintained that the accusations are untrue.
On Monday, Jan. 20, Trump will be sworn in for a second, nonconsecutive term as U.S. president. He will be the first sitting president in history to have been convicted of a felony.
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