The United States Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an eleventh-hour attempt by President-elect Donald Trump to halt sentencing in his hush money case.
In a 5-4 vote, the nation's highest court, which includes three justices appointed by Trump, dismissed his emergency application seeking to block the sentencing scheduled for Friday (10 January), reports AFP.
The court, in a concise unsigned order, noted that the "burden that sentencing will impose on the President-Elect's responsibilities is relatively insubstantial" and confirmed that Trump would be permitted to attend the proceedings virtually.
Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw the case, has indicated his intention to impose an "unconditional discharge," meaning that Trump would face no jail time, fines, or probation.
The sentencing is set to take place in Manhattan at 9:30am (1430 GMT) on Friday, following Trump's conviction in May by a New York jury on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
At 78 years old, Trump, set to be inaugurated on 20 January, is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and will become the first convicted felon to assume office.
In a statement posted on his social media platform Truth Social after the Supreme Court's decision, Trump expressed gratitude to the court for "trying to remedy the great injustice done to me," and criticised Judge Merchan, describing him as a "highly political and corrupt judge."
He maintained his innocence, accusing the judge of fabricating charges, and vowed to continue appealing the guilty verdict.
Trump's legal team had filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court on Wednesday, seeking to prevent the sentencing. Four conservative justices – Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh – supported granting Trump's request. However, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court's three liberal justices in denying the president-elect's plea. Notably, Barrett, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh were all appointed by Trump.
Trump's lawyers argued that sentencing him would cause a "grave injustice" and disrupt "the institution of the presidency and the operations of the federal government." They contended that the legal immunity from prosecution typically extended to a sitting president should also apply to a president-elect.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg dismissed these claims in his response, asserting that Trump was a private citizen when he was "charged, tried, and convicted."
