The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
90°F
Current Conditions
Clear sky
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Supreme Court rejects Missouri AG effort to sue New York over Trump’s sentencing

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey addresses members of the press in the old post office building in downtown St. Louis on Feb. 2. (Vanessa Abbitt/St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
By Kacen Bayless Kansas City Star

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s extraordinary request to halt former President Donald Trump’s sentencing in New York until after the November election.

The decision, which was expected by legal experts, comes one day before Bailey, a Republican, will face off in the Aug. 6 primary election against Will Scharf, a member of Trump’s legal team.

The court, in a one-page decision, denied Bailey’s request to file a complaint with the court and dismissed his motion to halt Trump’s sentencing. The order said Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito would have granted his motion to file the complaint but would not grant other relief.

Bailey, in a statement on social media, said it was “disappointing that the Supreme Court refused to exercise its constitutional responsibility to resolve state v. state disputes.”

Bailey’s filing with the Supreme Court targeted Trump’s upcoming sentencing after a New York jury in May found him guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star.

Trump’s sentencing, originally scheduled for July, has already been delayed until at least September as the court assesses the potential consequences of the immunity ruling. Bailey claimed that sentencing Trump before the election would interfere with his ability to campaign for president.

Bailey and Scharf, a former federal prosecutor, have both taken steps to align themselves with Trump ahead of Tuesday’s primary election. The race has increasingly centered on Trump as the legal developments surrounding the former president have accelerated in recent weeks.

Trump last week endorsed both Bailey and Scharf.

Scharf, in a statement to The Kansas City Star, appeared to reference his help in securing the Supreme Court decision that Trump enjoys substantial immunity from criminal prosecution.

“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. Missouri needs a winner in the Attorney General‘s office.”