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President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday responded to the US Supreme Court’s decision to reject his bid to halt criminal proceedings in his New York hush money case, allowing the sentencing hearing to continue on Friday.
The court’s brief unsigned order indicated that Trump’s concerns could be addressed through normal appeal procedures. The court noted that the sentencing burden on Trump is minimal, as he faces no prison time.
In response to the Supreme Court’s decision, Trump voiced his disapproval of both the ruling and the judicial process, labelling the case as politically driven whilst maintaining his belief in eventual justice.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “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. Every legal scholar stated, unequivocally, that this is a case that should never have been brought. There was no case against me. In other words, I am innocent of all of the Judge’s made up, fake charges. This was nothing other than weaponization of our justice system against a political opponent.”
He continued, “It’s called lawfare, and nothing like this has ever happened in the United States of America, and it should never be allowed to happen again. To this day, this highly political and corrupt Judge has put a gag order on me, which takes away my First Amendment right to speak about very important aspects of the case. For the sake and sanctity of the Presidency, I will be appealing this case, and am confident that justice will prevail.”
Four conservative justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh supported Trump’s postponement request.
However, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, both conservatives, joined the court’s three liberal justices in rejecting the president-elect’s bid. Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, were appointed to the Supreme Court by Trump.
Trump, set to take office on January 20, filed an urgent request with the US Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking to delay his sentencing.
Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in Manhattan at 9:30 am (1430 GMT) on Friday, following his May conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, according to AFP.
The 78-year-old president-elect’s legal team contended that the sentencing delay was essential to “to prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the presidency and the operations of the federal government.”
In May 2023, Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to hide payments made to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who had reimbursed a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The payment was intended to secure her silence about an alleged affair with Trump ahead of the 2016 election, an affair Trump has consistently denied.
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