WASHINGTON, August 6 :
The United States Supreme Court denied Missouri's request to delay Donald Trump's sentence for his felony conviction in New York on allegations of paying a pornstar hush money. The court also extended a related gag order until after the presidential election on November 5. The judgment was made by the court in response to a complaint filed by Missouri, which claimed that the case against Trump violated the right of voters to hear from the Republican presidential nominee as he vies for reelection.
An unsigned order was issued by the Supreme Court. Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, two conservative justices, had previously said they "would not grant other relief" and that they would have heard Missouri's case had they been asked. In May, it was determined that Trump had lied about a $130,000 payment he made to porn star Stormy Daniels in order to conceal the fact that she had a sexual encounter with him years ago. Daniels had agreed to remain silent over the matter before the 2016 US election. According to prosecutors, Trump received the cash in order to boost his chances of defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
Even though his sentencing is set for September, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has promised to appeal Daniels' conviction. He denies ever having sex with Daniels. New York state judge Juan Merchan imposed a gag order on Trump and his imminent sentence on July 3. Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey sued New York state on July 3, requesting that the Supreme Court delay Trump's sentencing.
The Supreme Court hears cases involving conflicts between individual states. As a matter of First Amendment rights, Bailey contended that the criminal prosecution of Trump infringed upon the ability of Missourians to "hear from and vote for their preferred presidential candidate."
"Instead of letting presidential candidates campaign on their own merits, radical progressives in New York are trying to rig the 2024 election by waging a direct attack on our democratic process," Bailey stated when he filed the lawsuit.
A Supreme Court brief was filed by Republican attorneys general from Florida, Iowa, Montana, and Alaska in favor of Missouri's lawsuit.
Regarding his endeavors to reverse his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden, Trump is moreover confronted with federal and state criminal accusations. With the support of its conservative majority of 6-3, the Supreme Court awarded Trump extensive criminal protection for acts committed while in office in a decision issued on July 1. As a result, the federal election subversion case against Trump was practically certain to go to trial after the election.
The legal team representing Trump wasted no time in trying to get the hush money verdict overturned by citing the immunity finding. They contended that the prosecution had unduly depended on Trump's 2018 social media postings that constituted as official communications while he was president.
A court has stated that he will make a decision on Trump's arguments by September 6th. According to Merchan, Trump will be sentenced on September 18th if the conviction is upheld. The Trump gag order was upheld last week by the New York state appeals court. Trump, who has claimed that the whole criminal investigation against him is politically motivated, would be unable to speak publicly about specific prosecutors or anybody else involved in the case until sentencing, according to the Manhattan Appellate Division's judgment.
