Donald Trump loses latest bid to halt sentencing in hush money case ahead of inauguration

7 January 2025, 08:27

Donald Trump has lost a last-ditch bid to halt this week's sentencing in his hush money case.

Trump's lawyers attempted to indefinitely postpone the sentencing while he appeals against a ruling that upheld the verdict.

However, Manhattan Judge Juan M Merchan rejected the argument and ordered Friday's sentencing to proceed as scheduled.

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.

HIs lawyers have told Mr 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.

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Mr Merchan denied Trump's bid to throw out the verdict because of his impending return to the White House last Friday but signalled 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 that it "would be the end of the Presidency as we know it" if it is allowed to stand.

Prosecutors blamed him for pushing his sentencing to the brink of his second term by repeatedly seeking to delay his sentencing, which was originally scheduled for July.

"He should not now be heard to complain of harm from delays he caused," they wrote in a court filing on Monday afternoon.

A spokesperson for Trump, Steven Cheung, said: "Today, President Trump's legal team moved to stop the unlawful sentencing in the Manhattan DA's Witch Hunt.

"The Supreme Court's historic decision on immunity, the state constitution of New York and other established legal precedent mandate that this meritless hoax be immediately dismissed."

Any delay in sentencing could run out the clock on closing the case before Trump's second term begins on January 20.

The Justice Department's 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 "may become the only viable option," Mr Merchan said in his ruling.

If sentencing proceeds on Friday as scheduled, Trump's lawyers argued, he will be appealing the verdict while in office and will be "forced to deal with criminal proceedings for years to come".

Mr Merchan wrote that the interests of justice would only be served by "bringing finality to this matter" through sentencing.

He said sentencing Trump to what is known as an unconditional discharge - closing the case without jail time, a fine or probation - "appears to be the most viable solution".