UPDATE
Jan 7, 2025 1:30 PM CST
A New York appeals court judge has denied President-elect Trump's latest bid to delay this week's sentencing in his hush-money case. In a one-sentence ruling following an emergency hearing Tuesday, Judge Ellen Gesmer denied Trump's request for an immediate order that would spare him from being sentenced while he appeals Judge Juan M. Merchan's decision to uphold the historic verdict, the AP reports. It was the second time in two days that Trump was denied. Trump went to the Appellate Division of the state's trial court a day after Merchan rebuffed his initial bid to indefinitely postpone sentencing. Trump's sentencing remains on schedule for Friday, though he can still ask other courts to intervene.
Jan 6, 2025 5:25 PM CST
President-elect Trump was thwarted Monday in his bid to indefinitely postpone this week's sentencing in his hush-money case while he appeals a ruling that upheld the verdict and put him on course to be the first president to take office convicted of crimes. Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan ordered Friday's sentencing to proceed as scheduled, rejecting arguments from Trump's lawyers who said it should be halted while they ask a state appeals court to reverse his decision to let the conviction stand, the AP reports.
Trump can still ask the appeals court to intervene and order a stay, or pause. Otherwise, he'll be sentenced a little more than a week before he is inaugurated to a second term. Trump's lawyers have told Merchan that if his sentencing happens, he will appear by video rather than in person. The judge had given him the option in light of the demands of the presidential transition process. Last Friday, Merchan denied Trump's bid to throw out the verdict because of his impending return to the White House but signaled that he is not likely to sentence the Republican to any punishment for his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
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Trump's lawyers, who are also challenging Merchan's prior refusal to dismiss the case on presidential immunity grounds, filed appeal paperwork Monday afternoon in the appellate division of the state's trial court. No arguments have been scheduled. They did not ask the court to halt Trump's sentencing. Separately, they argued to Merchan that the appeal should trigger an automatic stay of proceedings and, if it doesn't, that he should step in and do it himself—an idea he rejected. The Manhattan district attorney's office had urged Merchan to proceed as scheduled, "given the strong public interest in prompt prosecution and the finality of criminal proceedings."
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