Judge denies Donald Trump’s attempt to stop Friday’s sentencing in hush money case as they appeal to block it

NEW YORK- President-elect Donald Trump remains on track to be sentenced this week in his hush money case after a judge on Monday denied his request to stop the proceedings while he appeals a ruling that confirmed the historic verdict.

Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchán ordered the sentencing of proceed as scheduled on Fridayjust over a week before Trump’s inauguration. The judge rejected pressure from Trump’s lawyers to postpone it indefinitely while they ask a state appeals court to reverse his decision that left the conviction standing.

Trump, who is on track to be the first president to take office convicted of crimes, can still ask the appeals court to delay sentencing.

Trump’s lawyers have told Merchan that if he is sentenced, he will appear by video rather than in person. The judge had given him the option, agreeing to the demands of the presidential transition process.

Last Friday, Merchan He denied Trump’s attempt to overturn his conviction and dismiss the case due to his imminent return to the White House, but noted that he is not likely to sentence the Republican to any punishment for his conviction. 34 felonies for falsifying business records.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform after Merchan ruled that “it would be the end of the Presidency as we know it” if he is allowed to remain.

Trump’s lawyers, who are also challenging Merchan’s previous refusal to dismiss the case. presidential immunity grounds, appeal documents filed Monday in the appellate division of the state trial court. No arguments have been programmed.

“Today, President Trump’s legal team took action to stop the illegal sentencing in the Manhattan District Attorney’s witch hunt,” said Trump spokesman Steven Cheung. “The Supreme Court’s landmark Immunity decision, the New York State Constitution, and other established legal precedents demand that this baseless hoax be dismissed immediately.”

Trump’s lawyers did not immediately ask the appeals court to suspend Trump’s sentence.

In a separate filing with Merchan, they argued that the appeal should automatically pause the case. If not, they told him he should step in and do it himself, an idea he rejected.

Manhattan prosecutors had urged Merchan to proceed with sentencing as planned, “given the strong public interest in a speedy prosecution and the finality of criminal proceedings.”

Prosecutors blamed Trump for pushing his sentence to the brink of his second term by repeatedly trying to postpone his sentencing, originally scheduled for July.

“You should not now be heard complaining about the damages caused by the delays you caused,” they wrote in a court filing Monday afternoon, hours before Merchan ruled.

Any delay in sentencing could run out time to close the case before Trump’s second term begins on January 20.

The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which provides legal advice and guidance to federal agencies, has held that a sitting president has immunity from criminal prosecution. If the sentence is not handed down before Trump is sworn in, waiting until he leaves office in 2029 “may become the only viable option,” Merchan said. in his failure.

If the sentence is handed down as scheduled Friday, Trump’s lawyers argued, he will appeal the verdict while in office and will be “forced to deal with criminal proceedings for years to come.” They raised an unlikely scenario in which, if Trump wins his appeal, he could face another criminal trial while in office.

In upholding the verdict and rejecting Trump’s dismissal attempts, Merchan wrote that the interests of justice would only be served by “giving finality to this matter” through sentencing. He said sentencing Trump to what is known as unconditional release — closing the case without jail time, a fine or probation — “seems to be the most viable solution.”

Trump’s lawyers remained unmoved, arguing that the “baseless case” was fueled by “numerous legal errors,” including rulings by Merchan that they say ran counter to the The decision of the United States Supreme Court last July that granted presidents broad immunity from prosecution.

“The Court’s non-binding preview of its current thinking regarding a hypothetical sentence does not mitigate these fundamental federal constitutional violations,” wrote defense attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove.

Trump has selected both for high-ranking positions in the Department of Justice.

Trump will have the opportunity to speak at his sentencing, as will his lawyers and prosecutors. You can only appeal the verdict after you have been sentenced.

The charges involved an alleged scheme to conceal a silent money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of Trump’s 2016 campaign to prevent her from going public with claims that she had had sexual relations with him years earlier. He says his story is false and that he did nothing wrong.

The case centered on how Trump justified reimbursing his then-personal attorney Michael Cohen, who had made the payment to Daniels. The conviction carried the possibility of receiving penalties ranging from a fine or probation to four years in prison.

Cohen, a key prosecution witness who had previously called for Trump to be jailed, said that “based on all the intervening circumstances” Merchan’s decision to sentence Trump without punishment “is both judicious and appropriate.”

Trump’s sentencing was initially scheduled for July 11, then postponed twice at the request of the defense. After Trump’s November 5 election, Merchan delayed the sentence again so the defense and the prosecution could have an opinion on the future of the case.