Donald Trump wants the Supreme Court to prevent the consolidation of his felon status before reaching the White House. The Republican’s lawyers have asked the high court to stop the publication of the sentence of Trump for his sentencing in the Stormy Daniels case, which is scheduled for this Friday.
The defense clings to the total immunity that Trump enjoys as president-elect from any judicial process. The argument is based on the ruling issued in June by the high court where presidential immunity was extended for official acts.
The Supreme Court has ordered prosecutors to respond to the request before Thursday morning. It remains to be seen whether the conservative majority that Trump shored up in his previous term will be more receptive than the other courts. To grant a suspension, five judges of the nine that make up the Supreme Court are needed. Currently, six are conservative and three are progressive.
Trump has appealed to the Supreme Court after the judge in the Stormy Daniels case, Juan Merchan, rejected the request to stop the sentence. The magnate’s lawyers consider that publishing the sentence now would interfere with the presidential transition and the inauguration on January 20.
“Indeed, the prospect of sentencing President Trump just before he takes office as the 47th president raises the specter of other potential restrictions on liberty, such as travel restrictions, reporting requirements, registration, probation and others, all of which would be constitutionally intolerable under the doctrine of presidential immunity,” states the appeal presented to the Supreme Court.
Most of the crimes for which Trump was convicted in the Stormy Daniels case occurred before he became president. The mogul was still a private citizen when his then lawyer, Michael Cohen, made the payment to the porn actress in exchange for her silence to avoid a scandal in the middle of the 2016 election campaign. So it remains to be seen what reading he will make. the high court on the ruling of the case, since presidential immunity is only for official acts.
Merchan announced last week that she was upholding Trump’s sentence for his 34 crimes, but would not send him to prison. The magistrate leans towards an unconditional exemption from the sentence, which means that for practical purposes the Republican would not face any material consequences for his crimes. Even so, seeing him again sitting in the dock of the Manhattan court, just ten days before his inauguration, would be a serious blow to his image.
Whether or not the Supreme Court acts in favor of Trump, the Republican will be the first convict in the history of the country to become president. Last May, a popular jury found him guilty of falsifying documents related to the payment of $130,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels. With this he wanted to hide the sexual relationship he had with her to prevent it from damaging his candidacy in the 2016 elections. In New York, document falsification is punishable by up to four years in prison, although in the case of Trump – who had no record – Imprisonment was already unlikely.
If the Supreme Court grants a stay of Trump’s sentence, it could effectively scupper the process forever. Once the Republican returns to the White House, the criminal process will no longer be able to continue, and it would not be until after his second term concludes, at age 82, when it could be resumed.
Source: www.eldiario.es
