Appeals court denies Trump’s attempt to stop Friday’s sentencing

A New York appeals judge denied President-elect Donald Trump’s request to delay the Jan. 10 sentencing in his silent money criminal case.

Trump’s sentencing will proceed as scheduled on Friday, pending possible additional legal maneuvering by the president-elect’s lawyers.

Judge Ellen Gesmer rejected Trump’s claim that the case should be delayed because of presidential immunity, after his lawyer argued in court that Trump is covered by presidential immunity that extends to him while he waits to be sworn in.

The appeals court heard arguments Tuesday in Trump’s lawsuit against the judge in the case, Juan Merchan, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, as part of Trump’s effort to stop his sentencing following his criminal conviction in May.

“We should get a stay so that no further action is taken,” defense attorney Todd Blanche said during oral arguments in the First Judicial Department of the Appellate Division. “The imposition is extraordinary.”

Judge Ellen Gesmer questioned whether the immunity granted to sitting presidents extends to elected presidents.

“I’m curious about that,” he said. “Do you have any support for the idea of ​​presidential immunity being extended to elected presidents?”

Blanche answered no. “There’s never been a case like this before, so no,” Blanche said.

Prosecutors said there is “no evidence” to support the claim that presidential immunity applies to Trump before his Jan. 20 inauguration.

“The claim is so baseless that there is no support here for an automatic suspension,” said Steven Wu of the Manhattan district attorney’s office. “There is a compelling public interest in bringing this process to a conclusion.”

The prosecutor noted that Trump’s sentencing was originally scheduled for July 11 and that all delays since then have been made at Trump’s request.

“If sentencing is going to be passed, now is the best time to do so,” Wu said.

Trump was found guilty in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to improve her electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.

Merchan initially scheduled Trump’s sentencing for July 11 before postponing it to weigh whether Trump’s sentence was affected by the Supreme Court’s decision. july ruling prohibit the prosecution of a president for official acts performed while in office. Merchan later ruled that Trump’s conviction was related”entirely to unofficial conduct” and “does not represent any danger of intrusion into the authority and function of the Executive Branch.”

Trump’s lawyers asked the appeals court to halt the proceedings, including his Jan. 10 sentencing, and to throw out his conviction outright on presidential immunity grounds.

“Judge Merchan’s erroneous decisions threaten the institution of the Presidency and go directly against established precedent that does not allow any criminal prosecution against an elected president, as well as prohibits the use of evidence of a president’s official acts against him. in a criminal proceeding,” they argued. in his suit.

Blanche and fellow defense attorney Emil Bove, whom Trump has chosen to major publications of the Department of Justice in his incoming administration, claimed in the lawsuit that Trump’s “indisputable absolute immunity” extends to his time as president-elect, an argument that Judge Merchan flatly denied last week.

The lawyers also claimed that the jury’s verdict was “erroneous” because they saw evidence related to official acts.

“President Trump files this Article 78 proceeding to remedy the serious and continuing violation of his presidential immunity from criminal proceedings that he holds as the 45th and soon-to-be 47th president of the United States of America,” the document says.

The president-elect faces up to four years in prison, but Merchan indicated last week that she would sentence Trump to unconditional release – effectively a stain on Trump’s record, with no jail time, fines or parole – saying that would strike a balance between the duties of the foreman and the sanctity of the jury’s verdict.

Merchan on Monday denied a separate request by Trump to stop sentencing in the case.