Trump tests power with Supreme Court even before he's sworn in

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

59% : His legal team said Trump "is currently engaged in the most crucial and sensitive tasks of preparing to assume the executive power in less than two weeks, all of which are essential to the United States' national security and vital interests."
51% : "Still, the July ruling bodes well for Trump in the latest case, Wehle said.
50% : Trump says his immunity is so far-reaching it precludes even a largely symbolic sentencing for his New York hush money conviction, a case centering on actions he took in his private capacity.
49% : Trump said he should be given time to broker a settlement that would protect both free speech and national security.
48% : Even so, Trump said the sentencing would interfere with his ability to deal with world leaders and formulate his agenda.
45% : Forcing Trump to prepare for sentencing "imposes an intolerable, unconstitutional burden on him that undermines these vital national interests.
42% : With Republicans in control of Congress, the conservative-majority court stands in the unlikely spot as one of the few potential constraints on Trump and his ambitious agenda.
42% : That was a prelude to the immunity ruling, which ended Special Counsel Jack Smith's bid to put Trump on trial before the November election.
40% : "Trump seems to approach the Supreme Court as his back-pocket way out of any legal thicket," said Kimberly Wehle, a University of Baltimore law professor who focuses on the constitutional separation of powers.
38% : That would mean Trump would face no real penalty other than having the conviction remain on his record.
35% : Donald Trump hasn't even taken office, and he is already testing how far the US Supreme Court will yield to his demands as he starts his second term as president.
35% : In a filing made public Wednesday, Trump asked the court to extend a blockbuster 2024 ruling that conferred broad criminal immunity on presidents for their official acts.
34% : One of those justices, conservative Justice Samuel Alito, said in a statement that he spoke by phone this week with Trump about a job candidate for the new administration.
34% : Those setbacks at times prompted Trump to lash out at the court and Chief Justice John Roberts.
30% : The judge has said he won't sentence Trump to any time in prison and sees a sentence of an "unconditional discharge" as the most viable solution.
29% : The clash, which will determine whether Trump is sentenced Friday by a judge who has vowed there will be no prison time, is set to provide an early indication of the justices' willingness to accommodate him as he assumes the presidency for the second time.
29% : Alito said they didn't discuss pending cases or any other Supreme Court matters involving Trump.
29% : "Trump also contends that under Supreme Court precedent he is entitled to an automatic stay of his criminal case until his immunity arguments are resolved.
28% : A fresh decision for Trump from the justices would be "a natural consequence of the absurdity and overreach" of the earlier ruling.
28% : A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to conceal payments to an adult film star before the 2016 election.
26% : Trump argues that his New York trial was tainted by evidence that the Supreme Court ruling says should be barred, including social media posts on his official account.
13% : Taint allegedIn the New York case, Trump is seeking to leverage the court's July immunity ruling, which wiped out a prosecution that sought to hold him criminally accountable for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and his campaign to reverse Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.

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