SCOTUS denies Missouri AG's effort to delay Trump's sentencing and relieve him of gag order in New York case
The Supreme Court of the United States declined a request by the attorney general of Missouri to delay sentencing and lift the gag order imposed on former President Donald Trump in connection with the so-called hush-money trial in New York.
In early July, Missouri AG Andrew Bailey, a Republican appointee currently running for a full term, effectively sued the state of New York for allegedly attempting to prevent Missourians from hearing from the Republican candidate for president in 2024 on account of the gag order that remains in place even after a New York jury convicted Trump on all 34 counts related to payments meant to keep the story of his alleged affair with porn actress Stormy Daniels out of the tabloids in 2016.
'I will continue to prosecute our lawsuit against @KamalaHarris @JoeBiden’s DOJ for coordinating the illicit prosecutions against President Trump.'
"New York is working to hijack our national election and jail President Trump," Bailey tweeted on Monday. "Missourians absolutely have an interest in ensuring that does not happen."
Acting Judge Juan Merchan eased the gag order some after Trump was convicted, permitting Trump to criticize jurors and witnesses in the case. However, Trump is still forbidden from speaking about prosecutors and their family members.
Last week, a New York appeals court denied a motion from Trump — who was recently shot and nearly killed in an assassination attempt — to lift all remaining remnants of the gag order, citing ongoing alleged "threats received by District Attorney staff after the jury verdict continued." There have been no reports of court staff members enduring physical harm on account of the trial.
Though Republican attorneys general from Alaska, Florida, Iowa, and Montana all joined Bailey and Missouri in the SCOTUS filing, NBC News still described it as a "longshot" and Politico a "legal Hail Mary."
Thus, it came as no surprise that on Monday, SCOTUS issued a one-page statement declining Bailey's motion.
"Missouri’s motion for leave to file a bill of complaint is denied, and its motion for preliminary relief or a stay is dismissed as moot," the statement said.
The statement added that Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas would have granted Bailey the opportunity to file the complaint but would not have granted any "other relief" he sought.
Following the statement from SCOTUS, Bailey expressed disappointment as well as resolve to hold the Biden-Harris administration accountable for apparent election interference via "lawfare."
"It’s disappointing that the Supreme Court refused to exercise its constitutional responsibility to resolve state v. state disputes," Bailey wrote. "I will continue to prosecute our lawsuit against @KamalaHarris@JoeBiden’s DOJ for coordinating the illicit prosecutions against President Trump."
"The fight is not over."
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who campaigned for office on the promise of targeting Trump, declined NBC News' request for comment on the SCOTUS statement.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has ties to billionaire financier George Soros and also made going after Trump a central focus of his campaign, declined Politico's request for comment.
Following his conviction, Trump was initially scheduled to be sentenced in July, but the sentencing hearing has since been pushed back until September.
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