Supreme Court won’t block Trump’s sentencing in hush-money case
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court refused to block President-elect Donald Trump’s criminal sentencing for covering up hush money paid to adult-film star Stormy Daniels, clearing the way for an unprecedented court proceeding Friday in New York.
A state jury found Trump guilty last May of 34 felonies for falsifying business records, part of a conspiracy that prosecutors said was intended to suppress damaging information before his victory in the November 2016 presidential election. The trial judge, Justice Juan Merchan, indicated last week that in light of Trump’s coming inauguration, a prison term was off the table and an unconditional discharge, or sentence with no punishment, was “the most viable solution." But Trump’s team, even as it pursues legal appeals through the state court system, had sought to spare him the stigma of the hearing—and of being formally branded a felon—days before he returns to the White House.
His lawyers argued that even a sentence with no punishment would interfere with the presidential transition and undercut Trump’s authority as president. “A felony conviction results in significant collateral consequences for the defendant, regardless of whether a term of imprisonment is imposed," they said in legal papers.
Those could include “restrictions on liberty, such as travel, reporting requirements, registration, probationary requirements, and others," alongside the “public stigma" felons carry, they said. Manhattan prosecutors in response argued there was no basis for the Supreme Court to intervene.
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