Donald Trump‘s sentencing in his New York hush-money trial will proceed on Friday, after the Supreme Court declined the president-elect’s emergency appeal to halt the proceedings.
In an order posted this evening, the court said that “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 justices were referring to New York Judge Juan Merchan’s indication that Trump will face no incarceration when he imposes his sentence. But Trump had still appealed Merchan’s order, as well as his refusal to dismiss his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The court said that Trump’s claims that there were “evidentiary violations” during the trial could be “addressed in the ordinary course on appeal.”
The court said that four of the justices — Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh — would have stayed the sentencing.
Trump was convicted in May on charges related to the payments made to former porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump had argued that the sentencing would interfere with his duties as president-elect. He has claimed that presidential immunity extends to his time as president-elect, but Merchan rejected that argument.
Alito, Kavanaugh, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Elena Kagan were in the same room with Trump today, as they attended the funeral for Jimmy Carter at the National Cathedral.
Trump nominated Kavanaugh, Barrett and Gorsuch to the court during his first term.
In a Truth Social post, Trump reacted to the latest ruling. “I appreciate the time and effort of the United States Supreme Court in trying to remedy the great injustice done to me by the highly conflicted “Acting Justice,” who should not have been allowed to try this case,” he wrote.
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