President-elect Donald Trump lost a second bid Tuesday to delay his sentencing later this week in his Manhattan “hush money” case.
A state appeals court judge swiftly swatted down a petition by Trump’s attorneys to push off the Friday sentencing while he fights a court decision upholding the verdict finding him guilty of 34 felony counts.
Trump is scheduled to be sentenced just 10 days before the inauguration. Steven Hirsch“After consideration of the papers submitted and the extensive oral argument, movant’s application for an interim stay is denied,” Judge Ellen Gesmer wrote in a brief order.
Gesmer issued the decision following 30 minutes of arguments from Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors in the the First Judicial Department appellate court in Manhattan.
Lawyers for Trump, 78, had filed a colossal, 502-page filing with the appellate department after trial judge Juan Merchan last week rejected an earlier bid to postpone the sentencing on presidential immunity grounds, and kept the conviction intact.
Merchan set the sentencing for Jan. 10 — just 10 days before Trump’s second inauguration as president — and said he planned to give Trump the most lenient sentence possible — no jail time, fine or probation. He also gave Trump the option to appear virtually for the hearing.
During Tuesday’s emergency hearing, Gesmer appeared skeptical about Trump lawyer Todd Blanche’s argument that his client can’t be sentenced as president-elect because he has the same immunity from criminal proceedings as a president.
Judge Juan Merchan said he would be sentencing the president-elect to the minimum term. AP“Do you have any support for the notion that presidential immunity extends to presidents elect?” Gesmer pressed.
“There has never been a case like this, so no,” Blanche replied.
Blanche at one point questioned whether the court would step in if Merchan had pledged to sentence Trump to jail time.
“I can’t give any weight to that,” Gesmer sharply replied. “I don’t find the hypothetical very helpful.”
Meanwhile, Steven Wu, a lawyer with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, noted Merchan had “bent over backwards” for Trump, granting multiple prior delays of the sentencing.
Alvin Bragg’s prosecutors oppose the bid for a delay. Steven Hirsch“The sentencing has to happen at some point, right?” Wu said.
Trump’s side filed a 39-page lawsuit — that included 463 pages of exhibits. The DA’s office responded with its own lengthy filing Tuesday, composed of an 18-page petition and 217 pages of exhibits.
It was not immediately clear whether Trump would seek to be heard again by a panel of judges ahead of Friday.
As of now, he’s still slated to appear by video Friday at 9:30 a.m. for sentencing in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The real estate mogul-turned-politician was convicted of 34 felonies for trying to cover up that he doled out payoffs to keep alleged sex scandals under wraps in the lead-up to the 2016 election.
Trump can’t appeal to overturn the conviction until the sentencing is complete.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had no comment on Gesmer’s ruling.
