The Supreme Court once again declined to the lift Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan's gag order on President-elect Donald Trump over his trial on charges of falsifying business records that resulted in a conviction in May on 34 felony counts.
"The application for stay addressed to Justice [Samuel] Alito referred to the Court is denied," Monday's one-line ruling read, according to the high court's order list.
Merchan last month delayed Trump's previously scheduled Nov. 26 sentencing indefinitely to give him the chance to seek dismissal. Trump's lawyers argue having the case loom over his four-year presidential term that begins Jan. 20 would cause "unconstitutional impediments" to the Republican businessman-turned-politician's ability to govern.
Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office supported delaying the sentencing to give Trump the chance to make his case for dismissal, though they said they would oppose that bid. The prosecutors have until Dec. 9 to respond.
The judge has not indicated when he would rule on Trump's motion to dismiss, and has not set a new date for sentencing. Bragg's office has suggested he defer all proceedings in the case until Trump, 78, leaves the White House in 2029.
The New York case stemmed from a $130,000 payment Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she has said she had a decade earlier with Trump, who denies it.
A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records for his reimbursement of Cohen by calling it "legal expenses." It was the first time a U.S. president – former or sitting – had been convicted of or charged with a criminal offense.
Trump pleaded not guilty in the case, which he called a politically motivated attempt by Bragg, a Democrat, to interfere with his presidential campaign.
Falsification of business records is punishable by up to four years in prison. Before he was elected, experts said it was unlikely – but not impossible – that Trump would face time behind bars, with punishments such as a fine or probation seen as more likely.
Trump's victory over Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election made the prospect of imposing a sentence of jail or probation even more politically fraught and impractical, given that a sentence could have impeded his ability to conduct the duties of the presidency.
Trump also faces state criminal charges in Georgia over his bid to contest the 2020 election tally in that state, but that case remains in limbo.
As president, Trump would have no power to shut down the New York or Georgia cases because they were filed in state courts.
Trump in November nominated his defense lawyers in the Merchan "legal expense" case, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, to serve senior roles at the Justice Department during his administration.
Information from Reuters was used to compile this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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