Logo

Manhattan prosecutors urged the US Supreme Court Thursday not to halt Donald Trump’s sentencing in his “hush money” case — as New York’s highest court nixed the president-elect’s last-ditch bid to stop the historic hearing.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg argued that the nation’s top court has “no basis” to step in, one day after Trump’s lawyers demanded that the justices freeze the Friday proceeding that would make him the first convicted felon to become president when he is sworn in Jan. 20.


  New York’s highest court declined to block Donald Trump’s upcoming sentencing. AP New York’s highest court declined to block Donald Trump’s upcoming sentencing. AP

Bragg’s office noted that it would be an “extraordinary step” for the high court to scuttle Trump’s sentencing — which will kick off the president-elect’s promised process of appealing the jury’s guilty verdict.

“There is no basis for such intervention,” prosecutors wrote in a 44-page filing.

The claim by Trump’s attorneys that the “presidential immunity” he’ll have after he takes office already applies “is unsupported by any decision from any court,” the DA’s office added.

Trump, 78,  has also failed to provide any evidence that “his duties as President-elect foreclose him from virtually attending a sentencing that will likely take no more than an hour,” Bragg’s office wrote.

Following their petition to SCOTUS Wednesday, Trump’s lawyers also asked New York’s top court, the State Court of Appeals, to scuttle the proceeding — but were swiftly denied in a one-page ruling issued Thursday morning.

The trial judge, Juan Merchan, has said he plans to give Trump the most lenient possible sentence — “unconditional discharge,” which means the Republican incoming president will face no jail time, fine or probation.

He also gave Trump the rare option of attending the Manhattan Supreme Court hearing via a remote video feed.

A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty in May 2024 of lying on company files to cover up a payment — made on the eve of the 2016 presidential election — meant to silence porn star Stormy Daniels’ story about having sex with a married Trump years earlier.

Merchan has agreed to Trump’s requests to delay sentencing, which was originally set for July 11, 2024, several times since then.

But, in scheduling the sentencing last week, he argued that it’s in the public’s best interest to bring closure to the case before Inauguration Day.

Trump’s lawyers argue that pressing on with the sentencing unconstitutionally interferes with his preparations for his second term.

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy