The court’s 5-4 order Thursday clears the way for Judge Juan M. Merchan to impose a sentence Friday on Trump, who was convicted in what prosecutors called an attempt to cover up a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels.

The nation’s high court denied Trump’s request for an emergency stay, or pause, of the criminal proceedings in his Manhattan case as he fights a set of rulings by state Supreme Court Justice Juan