The US Supreme Court has denied President-elect Donald Trump’s request to halt his sentencing in the criminal hush-money case, clearing the way for proceedings to take place as scheduled on Friday.
Trump, convicted of falsifying records to disguise a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels as legal expenses, sought an automatic stay of sentencing. The justices rejected the application by a narrow 5-4 vote.
The court’s decision saw Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett join the liberal bloc, while Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
Trump called the case a “disgrace” but described the Supreme Court’s ruling as “a fair decision, actually.” On social media, he accused opponents of continuing “witch hunts” to distract from his incoming presidency.
Justice Juan Merchan, overseeing the case, previously indicated he would not consider a jail term for Trump.
Manhattan prosecutors argued there was a “compelling public interest” in holding the sentencing and dismissed Trump’s claims of immunity as baseless. Three lower courts had similarly rejected Trump’s appeals before the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday evening.
Trump’s legal team contended that presidents-elect should be immune from criminal prosecution to avoid disrupting federal government operations. However, the court found the burden of attending sentencing “insubstantial” and deemed his concerns addressable during appeal.
The Supreme Court’s decision follows previous delays, with the original sentencing date postponed multiple times. Justice Merchan ultimately scheduled it for January 10, just days before Trump’s inauguration.
In a separate legal defeat on Thursday, a Georgia federal appeals court ruled against blocking the release of a report into Trump’s alleged efforts to prevent the transfer of power to Joe Biden after the 2020 election.
