Sports journalist Stephen A. Smith was perplexed and frustrated over the goal of pursuing the sentencing of President-elect Donald Trump that is scheduled for Friday, contending it only “validates” accusations that the nation’s justice system has become politicized.

Despite having his victory in the 2024 presidential election certified on Monday, the incoming president is still required to face sentencing in his criminal hush money case on Friday, as Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records last year. In assessing this, Smith argued this is only fueling “suspicion” among the public that the justice system was weaponized, an argument that many conservatives made ahead of the election.