Trump to be sentenced over hush money conviction today as inauguration looms after Supreme Court verdict: Live

Trump calls Supreme Court decision ‘fair’ as he promises to appeal hush money verdict

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Donald Trump is set to be sentenced in Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday morning over his conviction in the hush money case brought against him last year – just 10 days before his second inauguration to the presidency.

The US Supreme Court declined to stop the sentencing on Thursday, with its justices ruling 5-4 in favor of allowing Judge Juan Merchan to go ahead, meaning the president-elect will appear virtually for the sentencing hearing at 9am ET today, with an “unconditional discharge” sentence expected.

Trump called the SCOTUS decision “fair” but insisted he would be filing a further appeal, protesting his innocence and railing against “lawfare” on Truth Social.

Also yesterday, Trump attended the funeral of former president Jimmy Carter in Washington DC, sitting alongside fellow surviving commanders-in-chief Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton.

Earlier, he had called on California Governor Gavin Newsom to resign over the wildfires currently rampaging through Los Angeles, which have already killed 10 people, destroyed more than 1,000 structures and forced 150,000 residents to evacuate.

The president-elect accused Newsom, city mayor Karen Bass, and Biden of “gross incompetence” and declared the city “a total wipeout”.

Special counsel’s report on Trump January 6 investigation can be released, appeals court rules

A US federal appeals court has denied a bid to block the public release of special counsel Jack Smith’s report on Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals turned down an emergency challenge on Thursday aimed at keeping under wraps a report expected to detail unflattering revelations about the president-elect’s failed effort to cling to power after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

A separate volume of the same special counsel report – related to Trump’s hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate – will not become public while the case against two co-defendants of the president-elect, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, remains pending, the Justice Department has said.

Even with the appeals court ruling, however, the election interference report will not immediately be released and there’s no guarantee it will be as more legal wrangling is expected.

A lower court ruling from Trump-appointed US District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida temporarily blocking the Justice Department from releasing the report remains in place for three days.

The defendants may now ask Cannon to rule on the merits of their request to block the report, which she did not do earlier when she granted their emergency motion.

They could also conceivably ask the conservative-dominated Supreme Court to intervene.

A Trump spokesperson called Smith’s report an “unconstitutional, one-sided, falsehood-ridden screed”.

“It is time for Joe Biden and Merrick Garland to do the right thing and put a final stop to the political weaponization of our justice system,” spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.

The two-volume report is expected to detail findings and explain charging decisions in Smith’s two investigations.

His team abandoned both cases in November after Trump’s presidential election victory, citing Justice Department policy that prohibits the federal prosecutions of sitting presidents.

Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith (Reuters)

Joe Sommerlad10 January 2025 09:55

Trump promises Vladimir Putin meeting: ‘We are setting it up’

The president-elect said yesterday a meeting is being set up between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin, but typically offered no precise timeline for talks between the two leaders.

“He wants to meet, and we are setting it up,” Trump said in remarks before a meeting with Republican governors following his return to Mar-a-Lago after Jimmy Carter’s funeral in DC.

“President Putin wants to meet. He has said that even publicly and we have to get that war over with. That’s a bloody mess.”

Trump’s return to the White House on January 20 has sparked hope of a diplomatic resolution to end Moscow’s invasion, which began in February 2022, but it has also led to fears in Kyiv that a quick peace deal could come at a high price for Ukraine.

At the same press conference, Trump called his sentencing today a “disgrace”, reiterated his desire to incorporate Canada and Greenland into the United States and reflected on his newfound “friendship” with Barack Obama.

Joe Sommerlad10 January 2025 09:35

Truth Social: Trump weighs in on Greenland, Venezuela and California Governor

Also on the president-elect’s social media feed today, we have an ominous “see you again – SOON” message to Greenlanders, his thoughts on events in Caracas and more taunting of poor Gavin Newsom with a cartoonishly simplistic idea for solving the Los Angeles wildfires.

Speaking of Greenland, the Danish press has alleged that the locals only turned out to greet Donald Trump Jr in Nuuk earlier this week because they were promised a free lunch!

Here’s more from Katie Hawkinson.

Joe Sommerlad10 January 2025 09:15

Donald Trump’s hush money sentencing to go ahead on Friday after Supreme Court declines to block it

The US Supreme Court has ruled against blocking the president-elect’s sentencing in his criminal hush money trial, leaving Donald Trump without any remaining options to block his imminent return to Manhattan Criminal Court.

Trump is therefore scheduled to face New York Justice Juan Merchan at 9am on Friday – just10 days before his second inauguration to the presidency.

Judge Merchan has signalled he will issue an “unconditional discharge” sentence that will not include jail time or fines.

The president-elect will appear virtually, no doubt ashen-faced.

Here’s what Trump had to say about it on Truth Social last night…

…and here he is calling it “fair” but saying he still plans to appeal.

Trump calls Supreme Court decision ‘fair’ as he promises to appeal hush money verdict

And, lastly, here’s Alex Woodward’s report on the stage being set for another momentous day.

Joe Sommerlad10 January 2025 08:45

Key vote signals Democrat openness to Republicans’ Laken Riley Act

A key immigration enforcement measure could be on track for passage thanks to Democrats crossing party lines to support it.

The failure of the Democratic Party’s leadership and standard-bearers to present a winning message on immigration reform in 2024 is coming back to bite outgoing President Joe Biden.

With days left of his presidency and the fight to define his legacy begun, his allies in Congress are seemingly prepared to compromise with the GOP on a bill that would direct immigration authorities to detain any undocumented person charged with theft.

John Bowden, Eric Garcia, and Andrew Feinberg report from Washington, D.C.

Oliver O’Connell10 January 2025 08:30

Trump’s obsession with Greenland was inspired by cosmetics billionaire

The idea of buying Greenland initially came to Trump from cosmetics billionaire Ronald Lauder, according to the 2022 book The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021 by Peter Baker of The New York Times and Susan Glasser of The New Yorker. Trump and Lauder have known each other since their college days.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Oliver O’Connell10 January 2025 08:00

Report: Trump to declare national economic emergency to push through tariffs

Donald Trump is considering declaring a national economic emergency in order to create the legal grounds for introducing his program of steep tariffs against rival nations, according to CNN.

Even before taking office, the president-elect has threatened tariffs of as much as 10 percent on global imports and 60 percent on Chinese goods, plus a 25 percent import surcharge on Canadian and Mexican products.

Such duties are intended to provide a boost to American manufacturing but experts have warned that, in practice, they could backfire by upending trade flows, raising costs and inviting harmful retaliatory measures.

Joe Sommerlad has the story.

Oliver O’Connell10 January 2025 07:30

Watch: Trump and Obama share laugh at Jimmy Carter’s funeral

Trump and Obama share laugh as presidents unite for Jimmy Carter’s funeral

Barack Obama and Donald Trump shared a laugh at Jimmy Carter’s funeral at the Washington National Cathedral on Thursday, 9 January. All five living current and former US presidents including Joe Biden, Bill Clinton and George W Bush were in attendance at the ceremony honoring the life of the 39th president, who died on 29 December at the age of 100. Thursday’s funeral is the final tribute to the longest-living president as the six-day proceedings come to an end. Previous funeral services and ceremonies took place at the U.S. Capitol, the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, and in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.

Oliver O’Connell10 January 2025 07:00