On May 30, 2024, former US President Donald Trump and his lawyer Todd Branch were interviewed by the media at the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City as they went to face a criminal trial on charges of covering up hush money payments.
Michael M. Santiago | Michael M. Santiago Reuters
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the president-elect’s request Donald Trump halted proceedings in his criminal hush money case in New York, clearing the way for him to be sentenced Friday morning.
The 5-4 ruling came hours after New York State’s Supreme Court of Appeals refused to delay Trump’s sentencing.
Trump was convicted Last May, he was charged in Manhattan state court with 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump’s lawyers argued in a Supreme Court filing on Wednesday that all further proceedings should be stayed while the president-elect appeals his conviction in New York.
The case should be stayed to “prevent serious injustice and harm to the operations of presidential agencies and the federal government,” they wrote in the 51-page document.
They believe President-elect Trump is immune from criminal prosecution. New York trial court Judge Juan Melchan rejected the claim.
They also argue that the Manhattan District Attorney’s office violated Trump’s immunity by using evidence of Trump’s official presidential conduct during the hush-money trial.
The Supreme Court significantly expanded its presidential immunity At the time it ruled that the former president enjoyed “constructive immunity” from all official acts committed while in office.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg responded earlier Thursday that there was “no basis” for the Supreme Court to intervene in the case.
The president-elect’s legal team includes several people selected for senior Justice Department positions in the next administration.
one New York Court of Appeals and state supreme court Both men rejected Trump’s proposal to suspend Friday morning’s sentencing hearing.
Momo has repeatedly postponed Trump’s sentencing before and after the November 5 presidential election.
The judge is expected to impose an “unconditional discharge” sentence, meaning Trump will not be subject to jail time, probation, fines or any other conditions.
Wednesday afternoon, abc news It was first reported that Trump spoke with conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito the day before the president-elect asked the court to immediately halt the trial.
Alito confirms The Tuesday afternoon call did take place, but the statement said the hush-money case was not mentioned.
“We did not discuss the emergency petition he filed today, in fact, at the time we spoke I had no idea such a petition would even be filed,” Alito said.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
