Supreme Court rejects Missouri's long-shot bid to block Trump's gag order and sentencing in hush money case

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene in a long-shot lawsuit brought by Missouri attempting to block legal proceedings in former President Donald Trump's hush money case in New York.

The court rejected Missouri's bid to sue the state of New York, meaning the justices willnot lift the gag order or delay sentencing in the unusual claim brought by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican who is running for a full term this fall.

Many commentators said the filing was more of a political stunt aimed at gaining publicity than a serious legal claim.

The brief order noted that two conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, would have allowed the state to at least file its lawsuit directly at the Supreme Court although they would not grant the emergency relief that Bailey wanted. That tracks their approach in similar cases involving one state suing another.

Trump was convicted of 34 counts for falsifying business records related to payments made to attorney Michael Cohen as reimbursement for hush money payments to adult film star Storm Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 campaign. Daniels testified she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, which he has denied.

New York Judge Juan Merchan issued an initial gag order in March ahead of Trump’s trial. After the trial, Merchan lifted some of the restrictions, allowing him to speak about the witnesses who testified and the jury.

Trump remains restricted from commenting on court staff, individual prosecutors and family members of those involved in the case.

It remains unclear if Trump will even be sentenced before November's election. Sentencing was initially scheduled for July but has already been delayed to September at the