The Daily Fuckup

Donald Trump’s last-minute attempt to stop his New York sentencing did not work. On Jan. 9, 2025, the Supreme Court denied his emergency application for a stay of the state criminal proceedings, clearing the way for the hearing that had already been set for the next day. At the Jan. 10 sentencing, Judge Juan M. Merchan imposed an unconditional discharge.

The order was limited to the stay request. In it, the Court said the evidentiary issues Trump raised could be reviewed through the ordinary appellate process and said the burden from a brief sentencing hearing would be relatively insubstantial, given the trial court’s stated plan to impose an unconditional discharge. Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh said they would have granted the application.

Trump’s filing asked the justices to pause the proceedings while he pursued claims tied to presidential immunity and the use of evidence involving official acts. The application framed the request as emergency relief from criminal proceedings in New York state court, not a ruling on the merits of the underlying case.

The Supreme Court’s denial did not decide those immunity arguments. It simply left the sentencing hearing on the calendar, and the hearing took place as scheduled on Jan. 10. The result was a noncustodial sentence, not a delay.