The court turned down Trump's last-minute bid to prevent his sentencing, scheduled for Friday in New York state court in Manhattan 10 days before his inauguration for his second term as president.

The high court’s action clears the way for the president-elect to be sentenced for his criminal conviction in Manhattan on Friday.

The US Supreme Court has rejected Trump's last-minute bid to halt his Friday sentencing in his hush money criminal case. The president-elect had urged the top court to consider whether he was entitled to an automatic stay of his sentencing.