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U.S. Supreme Court rejects Missouri AG push to delay Trump sentencing in hush money case 

By: - August 5, 2024 3:03 pm

Andrew Bailey is hoping to win his first full term as Missouri’s attorney general after being appointed to the position in November 2022 by Gov. Mike Parson (Photo provided by Andrew Bailey’s campaign).

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 came a day before Bailey won 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 has been updated to reflect the results of the primary election.

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Jason Hancock
Jason Hancock

Jason Hancock has spent two decades covering politics and policy for news organizations across the Midwest, with most of that time focused on the Missouri statehouse as a reporter for The Kansas City Star. A three-time National Headliner Award winner, he helped launch The Missouri Independent in October 2020.

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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