Trump Seeks Halt to Sentencing in Hush Money Case, Citing Imminent Appeal
President-elect Donald Trump has asked a judge to halt his upcoming sentencing in the hush money case, arguing that the proceedings should be paused while he appeals the ruling upholding his conviction, The Associated Press reports.
Trump’s lawyers filed a request Monday asking Judge Juan M. Merchan to stay the sentencing, currently scheduled for Friday, while they seek to overturn the verdict in state appeals court.
The legal maneuver follows Judge Merchan’s decision last week to reject Trump’s motion to dismiss the indictment and throw out the guilty verdict. Trump’s team argues that their appeal should automatically trigger a stay, or pause, in the proceedings. If that doesn’t occur, they are asking Judge Merchan to grant a discretionary stay, preventing the Friday sentencing from taking place.
In his prior ruling, Judge Merchan indicated he was not likely to impose a prison sentence on Trump, a Republican, despite his historic conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. While Trump contended that his presidential immunity and impending second term should void the verdict, Merchan stated in his January 3 ruling that “bringing finality to this matter” through sentencing would be in the best interest of justice.
Trump will have the opportunity to address the court at his sentencing, as will his lawyers and prosecutors. Following the sentencing, Trump is expected to appeal the conviction.
The case centers on allegations that Trump orchestrated a scheme to conceal a hush money payment made to porn actor Stormy Daniels in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election. Daniels had claimed to have had a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier, an allegation Trump denies. The charges involve how Trump accounted for reimbursing his then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who facilitated the payment to Daniels.
Trump’s historic felony conviction carries a possible sentence ranging from a fine or probation to a maximum of four years in prison.
Trump has asserted that if the judge’s ruling upholding the May 30 verdict is allowed to stand it “would be the end of the Presidency as we know it.” He is on track to become the first US president to enter office with a felony conviction.
Michael Cohen, a key prosecution witness and former Trump lawyer, who had initially called for Trump’s imprisonment, now believes that “based upon all of the intervening circumstances,” Judge Merchan’s decision to sentence Trump without punishment “is both judicious and appropriate.”
Trump’s sentencing has been delayed multiple times, originally scheduled for July 11 of last year. After Trump’s November 5 election, Judge Merchan postponed it again to allow both the defense and the prosecution to weigh in on the case’s future.
