Supreme Court rules Trump can be sentenced in hush money case
by Rob Beschizza · Boing BoingIn a 5-4 split, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that Donald Trump can be sentenced following his conviction in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. Two of the court's conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, joined the liberals in the majority. Conservatives Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh all voted to block the sentencing of this convicted criminal.
Judge Juan Merchan, the New York judge who oversaw Trump's trial, had ordered sentencing in the case for Friday morning but has signaled that Trump will face neither penalties nor prison time. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for Friday at 9:30 a.m. In a brief, one-paragraph statement, the court said that some of Trump's concerns could be handled "in the ordinary course on appeal." The court also reasoned that the burden sentencing would impose on Trump's responsibilities is "relatively insubstantial" in light of the trial court's stated intent to impose no penalty.
Trump was convicted in May of lying in business records about hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, so she'd keep quiet about their relationship. Trump denies having an affair with her.
You really get the feeling of America on the brink here—a Supreme Court one vote away from placing him completely beyond the legal system's reach. Even the monarchy America freed itself from subjects its kings and queens to the law.
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, found itself in another ethics controversy after Trump and Alito spoke by phone this week, just before Trump's appeal was filed… "Justice Alito's decision to have a personal phone call with President Trump — who obviously has an active and deeply personal matter before the court — makes clear that he fundamentally misunderstands the basic requirements of judicial ethics or, more likely, believes himself to be above judicial ethics altogether," said Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin.