Napolitano to Newsmax: Supreme Court May Reject Trump Appeal

Former judge Andrew Napolitano told Newsmax on Thursday that the Supreme Court may reject President-elect Donald Trump's attempt to appeal his sentencing, but noted that it likely will not matter if he's sentenced as the judge is unlikely to impose jail time, probation, or conditions.

"When President Trump appealed to the Supreme Court yesterday, the court was, in my view, prepared to reject that appeal because the highest court in the state of New York [the Court of Appeals] had not yet ruled," Napolitano said on "National Report."

However, he noted that the New York Court of Appeals rejected Trump's attempt to halt his sentencing on Thursday morning.

"So the trial judge has said the sentencing is going forward, the intermediate appellate court has said the sentencing is going forward, the highest court in the state of New York has said the sentencing is going forward. There's only one conceivable appeal remaining, and President Trump's lawyers have filed it, and that's before the Supreme Court of the United States," Napolitano said.

Napolitano described the bid as Trump's "last shot," noting that "rarely does the Supreme Court of the United States interfere in a state court criminal proceeding."

"There is actually a federal statute that prohibits them from doing so," Napolitano said. "However, Trump's lawyers have quite properly gone through the full system, and this is his last shot and they're going to take it."

Napolitano predicted that the court will likely announce its decision "probably later today, because this sentencing is scheduled for … tomorrow morning" and if the justices deny the appeal, both legal teams will need time to return to Manhattan.

He also predicted that "if the sentencing goes forward [the judge is] going to say, 'OK, you're a convicted felon, there's no fine, there's no jail time, there's no probation, there's no conditions. Goodbye, Mr. President. Good luck to you.'"

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