Court denies Trump’s request to delay sentencing for hush money conviction ahead of inauguration, ruling likely to proceed Friday.
A New York appellate court has denied President-elect Donald Trump’s request to postpone his sentencing scheduled for Friday regarding his conviction related to hush money paid to a porn star.
The decision was made by Associate Justice Ellen Gesmer after a hearing on Trump’s attempt to block the trial judge’s ruling, which would allow the sentencing to proceed just ten days before he takes office.
Justice Juan Merchan, who presided over the case, previously rejected Trump’s legal team’s request for a delay while they appeal previous rulings that upheld the jury’s guilty verdict on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Merchan described the request for a delay as repetitive.
Merchan indicated he was unlikely to impose a prison sentence when he scheduled the sentencing, suggesting that an unconditional discharge may be the most suitable outcome given the circumstances.
During the hearing, Justice Gesmer questioned Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche about the argument that a president’s immunity from prosecution could apply to the transition period following an election. Blanche acknowledged that there had been no precedent for such a case.
He also warned of the possibility that Justice Merchan might impose a prison sentence extending beyond Inauguration Day, despite the judge’s previous statements indicating he would not do so. Gesmer urged Blanche to focus on the argument of presidential immunity rather than hypothetical scenarios regarding sentencing.
