Why did slippery demon Donald Trump ask the Supreme Court to pause his hush money case?

Donald Trump has more open legal cases than he does ex-wives, which is really saying something for the incoming Divorcer-in-Chief.

He’s been battling an array of legal woes for years now, as decades of shady activity finally catch up to him. Only a few have managed to stick, thanks to the unsettling amount of power and wealth Trump has likewise accumulated over the years, and easily among the most impactful is the still-lingering hush money case.

The legal proceeding centers around a hush money payment made in 2016 to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump, mid-way through an already scandal-drenched presidential campaign, directed his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, to shell out $130,000 to Daniels in hopes of keeping her quiet about an alleged affair. The money itself isn’t the issue, but Trump seemingly falsified business records in connection to the payment, and that decision has haunted him for more than four years now.

Presiding Judge Juan Merchan already postponed the president-elect’s sentencing once, and Trump is now attempting to bully his way into another postponement. His lawyers made the request just ahead of the planned Jan. 10 sentencing, and they’re taking the plea straight to the Supreme Court.

Why did Donald Trump ask to pause his hush money trial?

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why Trump wants his hush money trial paused, but its entirely reasonable that people have questions. After all, his lawyers are claiming — in a last ditch effort to save the 78-year-old from consequences — that pausing the sentencing is required “to prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the presidency and the operations of the federal government.”

That sounds serious, but its really just lawyer speak for “if we wait a few more weeks he’ll be free and clear.” They’re banking on a Supreme Court decision from last year, which granted broad immunity from prosecution to former and sitting presidents. Trump and his team are trying to argue that the ruling extends to presidents-elect, but that’s unlikely to hold up.

Largely because his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records has yet to be resolved in New York courts. While its clear they’ll keep fighting until the end, its extremely unlikely that Trump and his team will be successful in convincing Judge Juan Merchan out of proceeding with the Friday sentencing.

Trump’s been working hard to delay and distract through the entire process, and he’s already working to appeal his conviction. He’s dead-set on avoiding any real consequences for his transgressions, and he’s convinced that, once he’s in the Oval Office, all those bad optics will simply disappear. Which, unfortunately, is at least adjacent to the truth. He’ll certainly become much harder to convict once he’s in office, once again largely due to the Supreme Court’s troubling 2024 ruling.

Assuming Merchan sticks to his guns — a very likely outcome — Trump may receive an official sentence as soon as Jan. 10. Even then, there’s very little chance that Trump will face any real legal penalties, but at least he’ll have to face up to one of his crimes before he steps into office and wipes his record clean.