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 week바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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 Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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 Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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 바카라 게임 웹사이트would be the end of the Presidency as we know it바카라 게임 웹사이트 if it is allowed to stand.
Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s lawyers, who are also challenging Merchan바카라 게임 웹사이트s prior refusal to dismiss the case on presidential immunity grounds, Monday afternoon in the appellate division of the state바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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 바카라 게임 웹사이트 an idea he rejected.
The Manhattan district attorney바카라 게임 웹사이트s office had urged Merchan to proceed as scheduled, 바카라 게임 웹사이트given the strong public interest in prompt prosecution and the finality of criminal proceedings.바카라 게임 웹사이트
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.
바카라 게임 웹사이트He should not now be heard to complain of harm from delays he caused,바카라 게임 웹사이트 they wrote in a court filing Monday afternoon.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Today, President Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s legal team moved to stop the unlawful sentencing in the Manhattan D.A.바카라 게임 웹사이트s Witch Hunt,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트The Supreme Court바카라 게임 웹사이트s historic decision on Immunity, the state constitution of New York, and other established legal precedent mandate that this meritless hoax be immediately dismissed.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Any delay in sentencing could run out the clock on closing the case before Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s second term begins Jan. 20.
The Justice Department바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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 바카라 게임 웹사이트may become the only viable option,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Merchan said .
If sentencing proceeds on Friday as scheduled, Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s lawyers argued, he will be appealing the verdict while in office and will be 바카라 게임 웹사이트forced to deal with criminal proceedings for years to come.바카라 게임 웹사이트 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 바카라 게임 웹사이트bringing finality to this matter바카라 게임 웹사이트 through sentencing. He said sentencing Trump what바카라 게임 웹사이트s known as an unconditional discharge 바카라 게임 웹사이트 closing the case without jail time, a fine or probation 바카라 게임 웹사이트 바카라 게임 웹사이트appears to be the most viable solution.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Trump's lawyers were unmoved, arguing that the 바카라 게임 웹사이트meritless case바카라 게임 웹사이트 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.
바카라 게임 웹사이트The Court바카라 게임 웹사이트s non-binding preview of its current thinking regarding a hypothetical sentencing does not mitigate these bedrock federal constitutional violations,바카라 게임 웹사이트 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 Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s 2016 campaign to keep her from publicizing claims she바카라 게임 웹사이트d 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 바카라 게임 웹사이트based upon all of the intervening circumstances바카라 게임 웹사이트 Merchan바카라 게임 웹사이트s decision to sentence Trump without punishment 바카라 게임 웹사이트is both judicious and appropriate.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s sentencing initially was set for last July 11, then postponed twice at the defense바카라 게임 웹사이트s request. After Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s Nov. 5 election, Merchan delayed the sentencing again so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case.