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President-elect Donald Trump has asked a New York judge to halt sentencing in his money laundering case. scheduled for January 10.
His lawyers announced Monday that Trump will appeal Judge Juan Mercan’s decision to order the sentence.
In court documents, Trump’s lawyers wrote that they will seek to “rescind this politically motivated criminal prosecution, which was wrong from the beginning.”
In May 2024, Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying commercial records, making him the first former president to be convicted of a crime.
The allegations relate to Trump’s attempt to disguise compensation for a hush-hush payment to an adult movie star as legal expenses.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied his guilt. His attorneys said the appeal was intended to end the prosecution of his New York case.
The sentencing has been repeatedly delayed due to the 2024 presidential election and Trump’s attempt to get the case dismissed on the basis of a claim of presidential immunity. Judge Merchan finally rejected the immunity argument in December.
On Jan. 3, Judge Merchan issued an order saying he would continue sentencing until Trump takes office, but wrote that he would not consider a prison sentence.
He ordered Trump to appear at the hearing virtually or in person.
“The American people elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate demanding an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and all other witch hunts,” said Stephen Cheng, a spokesman for the transition to President Trump.
Trump’s team has not commented publicly on whether the president will be selected for trial, but in its response Monday afternoon to a request for a stay, the Manhattan prosecutor’s office cited “the defendant’s decision to appear for sentencing in effect and not in person.” The link to the virtual hearing was repeated several pages later.
In response, the district attorney asked the judge to deny Trump’s request for an immediate stay of the sentence and argued that such a decision would not cause harm.
In the weeks since the election, a ream of court documents have been filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who opened the case, and Trump’s legal team.
Bragg’s office previously said they would not be opposed to delaying Trump’s sentencing until the end of his term in office, four years from now.
But after Judge Merchan decided to continue the sentencing, Bragg asked the judge to continue the sentencing on Friday.
In his order last week, Judge Merchan wrote that “this court firmly believes that only by making a final decision on this matter” will the legal issues be resolved.
Still, the judge left the door open to the possibility that Trump would try to appeal the sentence, writing that he “should be allowed to pursue every available appeal.”
