President-elect Donald Trump decided Monday to suspend this week’s sentencing in his hush money case while he appeals a judge’s decision that upheld the historic verdict and put him on the right path to become the first president to take office convicted of felony crimes.
Trump’s lawyers said they would ask a New York appeals court to overturn the ruling last week by Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan, who set the case for conviction Friday , a little more than a week before his inauguration.
Merchan rejected Trump’s proposal to overturn the May 30 verdict because of his imminent return to the White House. Trump’s lawyers said they would also appeal an earlier ruling in which the judge refused to dismiss the case on grounds of presidential immunity.
In his ruling last week, the judge indicated he likely would not give Trump, a Republican, any punishment for his historic conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Trump said it would be “the end of the presidency as we know it” if the decision stood.
Trump’s lawyers argued Monday that their appeal to the state trial court’s appellate division should trigger what’s known as an automatic stay, or pause, of the proceedings. If that doesn’t happen, they said, Merchan should step in and stay Friday’s sentencing.
They asked Merchan to inform them by Monday afternoon of his decision “to provide sufficient time for President Trump to seek emergency appellate review.”
“Today, President Trump’s legal team took steps to put an end to illegal convictions in the Manhattan DA’s witch hunt,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said. “The Supreme Court’s landmark decision on immunity, the New York State Constitution and other established legal precedents demand that this baseless hoax be immediately rejected.”
A message seeking comment was left with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which filed charges.
Any delay in convicting Trump could run out of time to close the case before his second term begins on January 20. As president, he will again be immune from criminal prosecution, making it unlikely he could be convicted while in office. If sentencing isn’t handed down before Trump is sworn in, waiting until he leaves office in 2029 “could become the only viable option,” Merchan said last week.
While Trump argued that presidential immunity and his impending second term required overturning the verdict, Merchan wrote in his Jan. 3 ruling that only “bringing finality to this matter” by convicting Trump would serve the interests of justice.
The judge wrote that sentencing Trump to what is called an absolute discharge — closing the case without jail time, fines or probation — “appears to be the most viable solution.”
Recognizing the demands of the transition process, Merchan had given Trump the option of attending in person or appearing virtually via video. Whenever he is convicted, Trump will have the opportunity to speak, as will his lawyers and prosecutors. Once convicted, he will be able to appeal the verdict, as he has promised to do.
The charges related to an alleged scheme to hide a discreet payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels during the final weeks of Trump’s 2016 campaign, in order to prevent her from publicly disclosing her allegations that she had sexual relations with him years ago. He says his story is false and he did nothing wrong.
The case centered on how Trump repaid his then-personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, who made the payment to Daniels. The conviction carried a penalty ranging from a fine or probation to up to four years in prison.
Cohen, a key prosecution witness who previously called for Trump to be imprisoned, said that “based on all of the circumstances involved,” Merchan’s decision to convict Trump without punishment “is both wise and appropriate.” .
Trump’s sentencing was initially set for July 11, then postponed twice at the request of the defense. After Trump’s election on November 5, Merchan again delayed sentencing so that the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case.