(Adnkronos) – New York Judge Juan Merchan will read the sentence today in the case related to the Stormy Daniels affair of Donald Trump, who will thus become the first president in American history with a criminal conviction on January 20th. The Supreme Court has in fact rejected, by 5 votes to 4, the request for postponement which was the tycoon’s last hope of avoiding today’s hearing.
The votes of the Chief Justice of the Court, John Roberts, and of the judge, Amy Coney Barrett, appointed by Trump in his first term, were decisive, who joined the three liberal judges in denying the request of the lawyers of the president-elect who they had stated that the reading of the sentence would be “a grave injustice and damage to the institution of the presidency.” An argument that was instead accepted by the other four conservative judges, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, the latter two also appointed by Trump.
The majority decision explains that the request for postponement is rejected because it is a “state court proceeding that must be dealt with through the normal course of appeals”. Furthermore, it is underlined that “the burden that the sentence will impose on the responsibilities of the president-elect is relatively inconsistent since the judge has expressed his intention to impose unconditional release”.
In setting the hearing for sentencing, Judge Merchan in fact announced that no penalty will be imposed on Trump, who was found guilty by the jury on 34 counts of falsifying financial records in order to cover up the sum paid to buy the porn star’s silence about her relationship with the tycoon.
But the judge still confirmed the sentence, rejecting the request of Trump’s lawyers to annul it in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling on immunity and the new election to the White House.
The judge has established that the defendant Trump, who in ten days will be the President of the United States, will be able to follow this morning’s hearing remotely. Speaking from Mar a Lago, the president-elect commented on the Court’s ruling calling it “really a fair decision”, underlining that his appeal is going ahead. “So tomorrow I’ll do my little thing tomorrow, you can have fun with your political opponent,” he added.
