WASHINGTON — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s efforts to delay sentencing in former President Donald Trump’s hush money case in New York were rejected Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The decision comes a day before Bailey will face off in the Aug. 6 primary election against Will Scharf, a member of Trump’s legal team.
In a one-page order, the court refused to intervene in the case, meaning a gag order against Trump will remain in place and sentencing on his 34 felony convictions will move forward as scheduled next month.
Bailey argued the New York prosecution was politically motivated and urged the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene because it has jurisdiction in cases involving one state suing another. He sought to delay sentencing until after the election and lift the gag order placed on Trump that prevents him from speaking out against prosecutors, court staff and their families.
The court rejected Bailey’s argument without comment.
“It’s disappointing that the Supreme Court refused to exercise its constitutional responsibility to resolve state v. state disputes,” Bailey posted on social media, adding that his office would continue to challenge the “illicit prosecutions against President Trump.”
Trump is slated to be sentenced just weeks before the November election after being convicted on 34 counts for falsifying business records related to hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Bailey’s loss on Monday earned a sharp rebuke from Will Scharf, who is running against the attorney general in Tuesday’s GOP primary. Scharf is part of Trump’s legal team that successfully argued to the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year that presidents enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts taken in office.
“I win the cases I file,” Scharf said. “My team and I have won case after case for President Trump, including at the Supreme Court.”
This story from the Missouri Independent is published on KSDK.com under the Creative Commons license. The Missouri Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization covering state government, politics and policy.
