US Supreme Court declines to halt Donald Trump’s sentencing in hush money case

Missouri, backed by other Republican-led states, sought to delay Donald Trump’s sentencing in New York, and to lift a gag order

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Former US president Donald Trump at a press conference the day after a guilty verdict in his hush money criminal trial in New York on May 31. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:47am, 6 Aug 2024Updated: 8:20am, 6 Aug 2024

The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid by the state of Missouri to halt Donald Trump’s coming sentencing for his conviction in New York on felony charges involving hush money paid to a porn star and left a related gag order until after the November 5 presidential election.

The decision by the justices came in response to Missouri’s lawsuit claiming that the case against Trump infringed on the right of voters under the US Constitution to hear from the Republican presidential nominee as he seeks to regain the White House.

The Supreme Court’s order was unsigned. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito indicated they would have taken up Missouri’s case but added that they “would not grant other relief”.

Trump was found guilty in May of falsifying business records to cover up a US$130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence before the 2016 US election about a sexual encounter she has said she had with Trump years earlier.

Stormy Daniels being questioned during Donald Trump’s criminal trial. Photo: Jane Rosenberg via Reuters

Prosecutors have said the payment was designed help Trump’s chances in the 2016 election, when he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Trump, the Republican candidate in this year’s election, denies having had sex with Daniels and has vowed to appeal his conviction after his sentencing, scheduled for September.