WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday denied President-elect Donald Trump’s request to block criminal proceedings in his hush money case in New York, meaning a sentencing hearing scheduled for Friday can go forward.
The decision on a 5-4 vote, with four conservatives dissenting, meant the conservative-majority court changed course after already handing Trump two major victories last year. Trump will return to the presidency on January 20.
The brief, unsigned order said the issues Trump wants to raise “may be addressed on appeal in the ordinary course.” The burden the conviction places on Trump is “relatively insignificant,” the court added, because he will not face prison time.
The three liberal justices were in the majority, with Chief Justice John Roberts and fellow conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Trump said he thought it was a “fair decision” and hinted at further action he could take.
“We’re going to appeal anyway, just psychologically, because quite frankly it’s a disgrace,” Trump said in response to a question from a Mar-a-Lago reporter, before criticizing the case against him.
While the appeal to delay the sentencing was rejected by the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, Trump could still try to appeal the sentence itself.
He said he respected the court’s decision.
“Tomorrow I’ll do my thing. They can have fun with their political opponent,” Trump said, attempting to portray the judge as overseeing a politically motivated case.
When asked for comment, a Trump spokesperson referred to the newly elected president’s comments at Mar-a-Lago.
“For the sake and sanctity of the presidency, I will appeal this case, and I am confident that JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Trump’s lawyers said in court filings that if the Supreme Court did not intervene, the New York court would inflict “grave injustice and harm” on the presidency.
They argued that the case should not move forward because Trump was protected by presidential immunity, as recognized by the Supreme Court last year in a ruling on Trump’s prosecution for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results.
The court ruled at the time that while actions by presidents in a personal capacity would not be protected, certain official actions by presidents are off limits for criminal prosecution.
A New York appeals court judge refused to block Trump’s conviction on Tuesday.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had urged the court not to intervene, saying in court filings that because the case is pending in lower courts, the justices do not have jurisdiction to review Trump’s claim at this stage. He added that there is a “compelling public interest” in allowing the sentencing to proceed after the jury’s guilty verdict.
Trump was convicted in May of falsifying documents related to hush money paid by his then-attorney Michael Cohen to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the final days of the 2016 presidential election. Daniels testified that she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, which he has denied.
Trump’s lawyers argued that some of the evidence at trial focused on official actions he took in the White House that are protected by the recent Supreme Court ruling. They also took the unprecedented step of saying that a newly elected president should be given the same protection from criminal prosecution as a sitting president.
Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the trial, had postponed the date of Trump’s initial sentencing in the wake of the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling. But he later determined that Trump has no immunity until he is sworn in as president and ordered Trump’s sentencing on 34 felony counts of falsifying corporate records to take place Friday morning.
Merchan made it clear last week that the sentencing would not include any prison time for Trump.
The Supreme Court helped pave the way for Trump to regain office despite the many legal obstacles he has faced in recent years.
The immunity ruling dealt a fatal blow to the election interference prosecution led by Special Counsel Jack Smith. In a separate ruling last year, the court also blocked states from removing Trump from their ballots under a constitutional provision that bars people “guilty of insurrection” from holding federal office.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
