Judge denies Trump's bid to delay sentencing in hush money case
President-elect Donald Trump was thwarted Monday in his bid to indefinitely postpone this week맥스카지노s 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 Trump맥스카지노s lawyers who said it should be halted while they ask a state appeals court to reverse his decision to let the conviction stand.
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.
Merchan last Friday denied Trump맥스카지노s 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.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform after Merchan ruled that it 맥스카지노would be the end of the Presidency as we know it맥스카지노 if it is allowed to stand.
Trump맥스카지노s lawyers, who are also challenging Merchan맥스카지노s prior refusal to dismiss the case on presidential immunity grounds, Monday afternoon in the appellate division of the state맥스카지노s 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 should trigger an automatic stay of proceedings and, if it doesn't, that he should step in and do it himself 맥스카지노 an idea he rejected.
The Manhattan district attorney맥스카지노s office had urged Merchan to proceed as scheduled, 맥스카지노given the strong public interest in prompt prosecution and the finality of criminal proceedings.맥스카지노
Prosecutors blamed Trump for pushing his sentencing to the brink of his second term by repeatedly seeking to postpone his sentencing, originally scheduled for July.
맥스카지노He should not now be heard to complain of harm from delays he caused,맥스카지노 they wrote in a court filing Monday afternoon.
맥스카지노Today, President Trump맥스카지노s legal team moved to stop the unlawful sentencing in the Manhattan D.A.맥스카지노s Witch Hunt,맥스카지노 Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said. 맥스카지노The Supreme Court맥스카지노s historic decision on Immunity, the state constitution of New York, and other established legal precedent mandate that this meritless hoax be immediately dismissed.맥스카지노
Any delay in sentencing could run out the clock on closing the case before Trump맥스카지노s second term begins Jan. 20.
The Justice Department맥스카지노s Office of Legal Counsel, which provides legal advice and guidance to federal agencies, has maintained that a sitting president is immune from criminal proceedings. If sentencing doesn't happen before Trump is sworn in, waiting until he leaves office in 2029 맥스카지노may become the only viable option,맥스카지노 Merchan said .
If sentencing proceeds on Friday as scheduled, Trump맥스카지노s lawyers argued, he will be appealing the verdict while in office and will be 맥스카지노forced to deal with criminal proceedings for years to come.맥스카지노 They raised an improbable scenario in which, if Trump wins his appeal, he could be then subjected to another criminal trial while in office.
In upholding the verdict and rejecting Trump's bids for dismissal, Merchan wrote that the interests of justice would only be served by 맥스카지노bringing finality to this matter맥스카지노 through sentencing. He said sentencing Trump what맥스카지노s known as an unconditional discharge 맥스카지노 closing the case without jail time, a fine or probation 맥스카지노 맥스카지노appears to be the most viable solution.맥스카지노
Trump's lawyers were unmoved, arguing that the 맥스카지노meritless case맥스카지노 was fostered by "numerous legal errors," including rulings by Merchan they say flew in the face of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last July that granted presidents broad immunity from prosecution.
맥스카지노The Court맥스카지노s non-binding preview of its current thinking regarding a hypothetical sentencing does not mitigate these bedrock federal constitutional violations,맥스카지노 defense lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote.
Trump has selected both of them for high-ranking Justice Department positions.
Whenever he is sentenced, Trump will have an opportunity to speak, as will his lawyers and prosecutors. He can only appeal the verdict after he is sentenced.
The charges involved an alleged scheme to hide a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels in the last weeks of Trump맥스카지노s 2016 campaign to keep her from publicizing claims she맥스카지노d had sex with him years earlier. He says that her story is false and that he did nothing wrong.
The case centered on how Trump accounted for reimbursing his then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who had made the payment to Daniels. The conviction carried the possibility of punishment ranging from a fine or probation to up to four years in prison.
Cohen, a key prosecution witness who had previously called for Trump to be put in prison, said that 맥스카지노based upon all of the intervening circumstances맥스카지노 Merchan맥스카지노s decision to sentence Trump without punishment 맥스카지노is both judicious and appropriate.맥스카지노
Trump맥스카지노s sentencing initially was set for last July 11, then postponed twice at the defense맥스카지노s request. After Trump맥스카지노s Nov. 5 election, Merchan delayed the sentencing again so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case.