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U.S. Supreme Court declines to halt Trump’s hush money sentencing
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to postpone President-elect Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money case, meaning he will face sentencing in a New York courtroom on Friday.
Citing the court’s July opinion that granted him “presidential immunity,” Trump’s legal team stated in a document filed on Tuesday that the trial court—the Supreme Court of New York County—”wrongly refused to recognize the immunity from prosecution of the president-elect during the presidential transition period.”
Trump’s lawyers requested that the U.S. Supreme Court immediately pause the ongoing criminal case in New York while they appeal a legal issue concerning whether Trump is immune from prosecution due to his former role as president.
Despite its 6-to-3 conservative majority, the Supreme Court denied Trump’s last-ditch effort to avoid criminal sentencing before the January 20 inauguration.
“After months of delay, the sentencing will now formalize Mr. Trump’s conviction, cementing his status as the first felon to occupy the Oval Office,” reported The New York Times.
Following the Supreme Court’s order, Trump said in remarks at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida: “I read it, and I thought it was a fair decision, actually.”
He later added on his social media platform: “For the sake and sanctity of the Presidency, I will be appealing this case and am confident that JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL.”
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump talks to reporters after a meeting with Republican leadership at the Capitol in Washington, DC, U.S., January 8, 2025. /CFP
Trump was found guilty by a jury last May of 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence shortly before the 2016 U.S. election about a sexual encounter she claimed to have had with Trump a decade earlier—a claim he has denied.
Prosecutors have stated that the payment was intended to boost Trump’s chances in the 2016 election, during which he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Trump is the first former U.S. president to be criminally prosecuted and the first to be convicted of a crime.
He has denied any wrongdoing.
Trump’s lawyers argue that prosecutors improperly introduced evidence of his official acts during the trial. They also contend that, as president-elect, Trump is immune from prosecution during the period between his November election victory and his inauguration.
CGTNÂ (With input from agencies)