The US Supreme Court has not helped Donald Trump this time. On Thursday, the court, in a 5-4 decision, rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s latest attempt to delay the sentencing of his New York hush-money bribery case, setting the stage for a highly controversial moment – the hearing is set for Friday, just ten days before Trump is to be sworn in as US president again, CNN reports.
Judge Juan Merchan has already indicated that he will not impose a prison sentence. However, the sentencing means that Trump will become the first president to take office with a criminal conviction on his official record.
The proximity of the sentencing and the inauguration creates a striking contrast – Trump will be charged under judicial jurisdiction, while within days he will assume the vast powers of the presidency and become the supreme guardian of the laws and the Constitution of the United States.
The word “unprecedented” has become a cliché due to the unexpected twists and turns in Trump’s life, presidential campaigns and first term in the White House.
But on Friday, he will write another page of history, after he fought off four criminal indictments during the campaign and still won a second term.
Trump will not personally attend the hearing in the same courtroom in New York where he was convicted last year, but will, according to CNN sources, be present virtually from his home in Florida.
