The U.S. Supreme Court denied President-elect Trump’s bid to halt his criminal sentencing in New York, ensuring it would proceed as planned on Friday. In a brief order, a five-justice majority noted that Trump was not facing jail time and that he could still challenge his conviction “in the ordinary course on appeal.” Although Trump argued that being sentenced 10 days before his inauguration would distract from the presidential transition, the majority said, “The burden that sentencing will impose on the president-elect’s responsibilities is relatively insubstantial.” Four conservative justices, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito., Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, dissented without providing reasons, the New York Times reports.
The decision means Trump will face sentencing for 34 felony counts of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal that threatened his 2016 presidential campaign. The high court majority opted to stay out of the case for now, despite having come to Trump’s rescue in other recent matters. In July, the justices granted former presidents broad immunity for their official acts, undermining a criminal case against Trump in Washington.
After months of delay, the New York sentencing will formalize Trump’s conviction, meaning he will be the first felon to occupy the Oval Office. Since a jury convicted Trump in May on all 34 counts he faced, his lawyers have lodged a flurry of filings seeking to unwind the conviction, or at least block the sentencing. The Supreme Court majority noted that Judge Juan Merchan intended to sentence Trump to an “unconditional discharge”
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