Supreme Court rejects Missouri's bid to halt Trump’s sentencing in N.Y. hush money case

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The Supreme Court rejected Missouri’s attempts to halt former President Donald Trump’s sentencing and gag order in his New York hush money case. / Getty Images North America

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected the state of Missouri’s long-shot bid at halting former President Donald Trump’s sentencing and gag order in his New York hush money case. Missouri had argued that the rights of Missouri voters to hear from presidential candidates were being violated by the New York criminal proceeding.

In an unsigned two-sentence order, the court denied Missouri's motion for leave to file a bill of complaint, and dismissed as moot the state's motion for preliminary relief or a stay.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito would have grant the motion for leave to file the bill of complaint, the order said, but not grant other relief.

In May, a New York jury convicted former Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records. The charges stemmed from payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to prevent her from publicizing an alleged affair in the leadup to the 2016 election. Trump denied the affair and said that he intends to appeal the conviction.

In the meantime, Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey took the extremely unusual step of seeking permission from the high court to file a so-called original appeal, which normally involves disputes between states over such matters as water rights and boundary disputes. In this case, however, Bailey sought to file a complaint aimed at delaying Trump’s sentencing and removing restrictions on the former president’s speech — a move so unconventional that Georgetown law professor Stephen Vladeck called it “frankly, ridiculous.”

New York, in response, accused Missouri of “bad faith” assertions that if allowed to proceed would set a harmful precedent for future unsubstantiated lawsuits. New York also emphasized that the case would “not present an actual controversy” because “former President Trump has already raised, and the New York state courts are already adjudicating, the same issues Missouri seeks to raise.”

The Supreme Court’s decision to reject Missouri’s request aligns with the court’s historical reluctance to interfere in state court criminal proceedings, particularly in cases lacking a genuine interstate dispute. Critics of Missouri’s suit had also argued that the state’s claims were speculative and lacked legal standing, as the alleged harms to Missouri voters were not directly attributable to the actions of New York state courts.

The ruling ensures that, barring any postponement, Trump’s sentencing will proceed as scheduled on Sept. 18, and the limited gag order will remain in place, barring him from publicly speaking about prosecutors, court staff and their families.