Trump declines to criticize Supreme Court after justices greenlight sentencing
President-elect Trump responded to the Supreme Court’s decision allowing his hush money criminal case sentencing to move forward by not criticizing the justices, instead going after his trial judge.
The high court in a 5-4 decision refused Trump’s last-ditch emergency request to block Friday’s sentencing in New York as he appeals his immunity claims, noting they “can be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal.”
“They called for an appeal. So, I read it, and I thought it was a fair decision, actually,” Trump said at a prescheduled event at Mar-a-Lago minutes after the court issued its ruling Thursday evening.
“So I'll do my little thing tomorrow. They can have fun with their political opponent,” he continued.
Trump’s comments were notable for not lambasting the five justices who sided against him — the court’s three liberals as well as Justice Amy Coney Barrett, whom Trump appointed, and Chief Justice John Roberts — given Trump’s frequent attacks on judges who rule against him.
In a separate Truth Social post, Trump wrote that “I appreciate the time and effort” by the Supreme Court for “trying to remedy the great injustice done to me.”
Instead, the president attacked his trial judge, Judge Juan Merchan, for imposing a gag order on him. Merchan also recently allowed the sentencing to proceed after rejecting Trump's immunity claims.
“Frankly, it's a disgrace. It's a judge that shouldn't have been on the case. He's a highly conflicted judge,” Trump said at Mar-a-Lago.
For months, the gag order has prevented Trump from making public statements about line prosecutors, court staff and the judge’s daughter, whom Trump has repeatedly singled out for her work at a progressive political consulting firm that boasts prominent Democrats as clients.
Merchan has repeatedly refused to recuse himself from the case, citing guidance from a state ethics committee that he was fine to continue. And appeals courts have upheld the gag order over Trump's First Amendment objections.
On Friday, Trump was given permission to appear virtually as Merchan is expected to hand down an unconditional discharge as his sentence. It would carry no jail time or any other punishment, though it would cement Trump’s status as a convicted felon ahead of his inauguration.
Trump is expected to attend via videoconference, according to a Trump transition source.
Once the proceeding takes place, he will be able to appeal his 34-count felony conviction stemming from a 2016 hush money payment in the normal course.
“This is a long way from finish, and I respect the court's opinion. It was, I think it was actually a very good opinion for us, because you saw what they said, but they invited the appeal,” Trump said at Mar-a-Lago.