President-elect Donald Trump has asked a New York judge to stay sentencing in his hush money crime case, which is scheduled for January 10.
His lawyers announced Monday that Trump would appeal Judge Juan Mercan’s decision, ordering the sentence to proceed.
In their court filings, Trump’s lawyers wrote that they would seek “dismissal of these politically motivated lawsuits that were flawed from the start.”
Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records in May 2024, making him the first former president convicted of a crime.
The charges stemmed from Trump’s attempt to disguise reimbursements from a secret payment to an adult film star as legal fees.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. His lawyers said filing an appeal should bring an end to the criminal proceedings in his New York case.
The sentencing had been repeatedly delayed by the 2024 presidential election and Trump’s attempt to have the case thrown out based on a claim of presidential immunity. Judge Merchan ultimately rejected the immunity argument in December.
On January 3, Judge Merchan issued an order saying he would proceed with sentencing before Trump took office, but wrote that he would not consider any prison time.
He ordered Trump to appear virtually or in person at the hearing.
“The American people elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate that demands an immediate end to the political militarization of our justice system and all remaining witch hunts,” said Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump presidential transition. .
Trump’s team has not publicly commented on whether the president-elect will be in court, but in its response Monday afternoon to the stay request, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office referred to “the decision to the accused to appear for sentencing virtually rather than in person.” . The reference to a virtual hearing was repeated several pages later.
In his response, the prosecutor asked the judge to deny Trump’s request to immediately stay sentencing, and argued that such a move would not harm him.
The weeks following the election were marked by a wave of legal filings from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case, and Trump’s legal team.
Bragg’s office previously indicated it would not object to delaying Trump’s sentencing until the end of his term in four years.
But after Judge Merchan decided to move forward with sentencing, Bragg asked the judge to proceed with sentencing on Friday.
In his order last week, Judge Merchan wrote that “this court firmly believes that only by bringing finality to this matter” will the legal dilemmas at stake be resolved.
However, the judge left the door open to the possibility that Trump would appeal the conviction, writing that he “must be allowed to avail himself of all available appeals.”
