The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected former President Donald Trump’s emergency request to delay his criminal sentencing in a historic hush money case, clearing the way for a New York court to proceed this Friday. The decision marks a major setback for Trump, who argued his 'presidential immunity' should shield him from prosecution.
Trump’s legal team claimed the Manhattan trial 'wrongly ignored immunity protections' during his post-election transition period, citing the Supreme Court’s July ruling on presidential immunity. But the court’s conservative-majority bench declined to intervene, leaving Trump to face sentencing just days before the Republican National Convention.
In May 2024, a New York jury convicted Trump on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal payments to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election. Legal expert Cheryl Bader noted: 'Avoiding sentencing would mean dodging the formal label of ‘convicted felon’—a first for any U.S. president.'
Despite pleading not guilty, Trump is expected to appear virtually at Friday’s hearing. The ruling solidifies an unprecedented moment in American politics: a major-party presidential nominee heading into Election Day as a felon. As The New York Times put it: 'This cements his legacy as the first Oval Office occupant with a criminal record.'
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