Judge Juan Merchan refuses to delay Donald Trump’s sentencing as defense appeals other rulings

A New York judge refused Monday to delay the criminal sentencing of President-elect Donald Trump, setting off a last-minute battle in appeals courts to obtain a reprieve before the inauguration.

State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan issued a two-page order denying Mr. Trump’s request to stay Friday’s sentencing.

Defense lawyer Todd Blanche sought a postponement as he appeals Judge Merchan’s refusal to dismiss the case due to Mr. Trump’s status as president-elect and a Supreme Court ruling on the case. presidential immunity for “official acts”.

“This court has reviewed Defendant’s arguments in support of his motion and finds that they are, for the most part, a repetition of arguments he has raised numerous times in the past,” the judge wrote. “Further, this court finds that the authorities relied upon in defendant’s present motion are mostly factually differentiable from the actual record or legally inapplicable.”

Judge Merchan recently indicated that he wanted to convict Mr. Trump before the inauguration, but would not give him prison time.

Mr. Trump was furious at the decision to pursue the case and called for the judge to be disbarred.

His lawyers will request a last minute halt to the proceedings before the courts of appeal. If they fail, Mr. Trump will face the ignominy of virtual or in-person sentencing on Friday – 10 days before he returns to the White House.

At trial, prosecutors said Mr. Trump criminally concealed a secret payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels around the 2016 campaign in an attempt to violate election laws.

They said Mr. Trump paid Ms. Daniels through Michael Cohen and hid reimbursements from the lawyer in 2017 by misidentifying checks.

Mr. Trump’s lawyers said he was busy running the country and believed he was paying Mr. Cohen for legal services. So his team recorded the checks this way. They also said the lawsuit was politically motivated and designed to thwart Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign.

A jury found Mr. Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records.

The president-elect’s liberal opponents hoped his legal troubles would sink him. Instead, Mr. Trump appeared to thrive in the face of adversity and won the GOP primary and general election against Vice President Kamala Harris.

Special counsel Jack Smith has moved to dismiss federal charges against Mr. Trump, and a Georgia racketeering case against Mr. Trump is in limbo due to a conflict of interest involving Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis.