Trump requests US Supreme Court to annul guilty hush-money verdict

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
4 Jun 2024 08:20

The former President stresses that the sentencing hearing due July 11 is only four days before his presidential nomination is anticipated to become official at the GOP’s national convention in Milwaukee.

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Former President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Trump Tower, on May 31, 2024, in New York. (AP)

Former US president and current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has asked the US Supreme Court to intervene and annul his guilty verdict in the hush money trial that has made him the first former US president to be a convicted felon.

A New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying documents to conceal a payment made to silence an adult actress, Stormy Daniels, before the 2016 election.

He voiced his request in a post on his Truth Social account, stressing that the sentencing hearing due July 11 is only four days before his presidential nomination is anticipated to become official at the GOP’s national convention in Milwaukee.

Trump posted: "The ‘Sentencing’ for not having done anything wrong will be, conveniently for the Fascists, 4 days before the Republican National Convention,” adding, “A Radical Left Soros backed D.A., who ran on a platform of ‘I will get Trump,’ reporting to an ‘Acting’ Local Judge, appointed by the Democrats, who is HIGHLY CONFLICTED, will make a decision which will determine the future of our Nation?"

A recent ABC/Ipsos poll showed that 50% of voters believed the verdict was correct, 27% believed it was wrong, and 49% thought he should end his campaign.

The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, who prosecuted Trump’s case, is reportedly being awaited to decide if he will request a prison term or leave the decision to Judge Juan Merchan's discretion.

Another riot?

Speaking with Fox, Trump appeared to brush off being affected by the possibility that he could be sentenced to jail by Judge Merchan on July 11, saying, “It could happen” and that he would be “OK” with a custodial sentence or home confinement.

However, legal analysts expect his conviction to bring probation instead of a heavier sentence given that he has no prior convictions.

Trump, although he would submit to house arrest or jail time after he was convicted last week, the public will find that difficult to accept.

Trump claimed he was "not sure the public would stand for it," adding, "I think it'd be tough for the public to take." Without elaborating, he expressed, "You know, at a certain point, there's a breaking point."

The Republican front-runner discussed a number of important subjects in the main segments of the interview that aired on Sunday, including what he would look for in an attorney general if elected in November and whether or not he would declassify several important documents that have been the focus of rumors and conspiracy theories.

"Yes," Trump said in the Fox News interview, insisting he would declassify the 9/11, JFK, and Epstein files to "restore some trust lost in American institutions."

Republic National Committee Co-Chair Lara Trump told CNN that what his supporters would do if he was imprisoned is "what they've done from the beginning, which is remain calm and protest at the ballot box on November 5th."