According to reports on Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump’s request to delay sentencing in his hush money trial related to sexual misconduct allegations has been denied by both lower and appellate courts. This case, scheduled to be sentenced this Friday, is 10 days before the presidential inauguration.
New York State Supreme Court Justice Ellen Gesmer declined Trump’s request to delay the sentencing. After considering arguments from both the defense and prosecution, Justice Gesmer decided based on a thorough review of submitted documents and extensive oral arguments.
Trump’s legal team attempted to leverage presidential immunity in their appeal to the higher court, seeking to overturn the guilty verdict and dismiss the case. However, this effort was unsuccessful. Trump objected to the decision of the Manhattan Criminal Court judge at the first trial, but that decision has been upheld.
The crux of this legal dispute involves allegations that Trump paid $130,000 to former adult film actress Stormy Daniels to prevent disclosure of their alleged affair just before the 2016 presidential election. Trump also faces charges of falsifying business records. This is the only one that has gone to trial, resulting in a guilty verdict among the four criminal cases against Trump.
Last May, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty on all charges. The court’s initial decision on the conviction was unconditional release, which acknowledged his guilt but imposed no punishment and effectively granted immediate release without any sentence or conditions.
Prosecutor Steven Wu addressed concerns about potential interference with the presidential transition process due to Trump’s upcoming sentencing, stating that the related issues have been resolved since Judge Merchan has permitted remote attendance. Trump is expected to attend the sentencing remotely.
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