Trump loses bid to halt sentencing in hush money case

A New York appeals court judge on Tuesday rejected a request by President-elect Donald Trump to delay his criminal sentencing Friday for his conviction in a case related to paying hush money to a porn star before the 2016 election.

The denial by Judge Ellen Gesmer came shortly after she held a hearing on Trump’s request, and a day after Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan, who conducted Trump’s trial, refused to delay the sentencing.

Trump’s lawyers had argued that Trump was entitled to a stay in the case because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that said presidents have presumptive criminal immunity for official acts taken in office.

The attorneys also claimed Trump would suffer irreparable harm and have his constitutional rights violated if he were to be sentenced 10 days before he is due to be sworn in for a second term.

Gesmer was skeptical of those claims during the hearing.

She noted that Merchan has already said he is not likely to give Trump any jail time. Merchan also has said he is inclined to not order Trump to serve any probationary sentence of pay any fine in the case.

“After consideration of the papers submitted and the extensive oral argument, movant’s application for an interim stay is denied,” Gesmer wrote in her ruling.

Trump was convicted last year of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with his then-lawyer Michael Cohen’s $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Cohen paid Daniels on the eve of the 2016 presidential election in exchange for her silence about a purported one-time sexual tryst with Trump in 2006.

Trump denies having had sex with Daniels.