New York [US], January 8 (ANI): A New York appeals court judge has rejected US President-elect Donald Trump’s request to postpone his Friday sentencing in the hush money case. Associate Justice Ellen Gesmer declined Trump’s request after a brief hearing on the matter on Tuesday afternoon, CNN reported.
On Tuesday, Trump had requested to stay the proceedings in the hush money case – including his sentencing scheduled for Friday, while he appeals his conviction after Judge Juan Merchan rejected his demand to stop the sentencing.
Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche, who has been selected as deputy attorney general in the US President-elect’s new administration told the New York Appellate Division, First Department, on Tuesday, that it should stop Trump’s sentencing, acknowledging the situation was unprecedented, according to CNN report.
Blanche said the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity in July provides constitutional protection to Trump. Although Merchan denied two arguments to vacate Trump’s conviction, Blanche said that either of those arguments should grant them a stay of proceedings while the appeal is litigated.
Gesmer, who presided over the hearing, asked Trump’s attorney whether there is any precedent for his request that presidential immunity could be extended to the US President-elect. In response, he said, “There has never been a case like this before, so no.”
Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Chief of Appeals Steven Wu said Trump’s lawyers have not presented any argument that a sentencing hearing would disrupt the responsibilities of Trump as US president-elect.
Wu said, “Now is the best time for this to happen here.” He admitted the DA’s office has agreed with legal team of Trump that it will be much more difficult to have a sitting president in for sentencing on a state matter.
Wu said, “The sentencing has to happen at some point, right?” Blanche called sentencing an “extraordinary” imposition on Trump and added that criminal sentencing is “a big deal” in someone’s life even if it takes one hour. The judge interrupted him and said Merchan would have been happy to sentence Trump in July.
Donald Trump is appealing his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records, requesting to toss it due to the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling and since he is now president-elect.
Merchan has rejected both these arguments and scheduled the sentencing for Friday, prompting Trump’s attorneys to approach the appeals court to try to stop the sentencing. However, Merchan has indicated he would not sentence Trump to any punishment.
When asked whether weight should be given to Merchan’s statement that he wouldn’t impose any prison sentence, Blanche said, “I don’t know how anybody could give any weight to that” since it’s hypothetical.
When Gesmer questioned what presidential immunity arguments would give Trump a stay pending appeal, Blanche said he is basing the argument on sitting presidential immunity and Merchan’s decision in December addressing whether there were evidentiary issues at trial that involved presidential immunity.
Blanche said that those arguments should allow Trump a stay on the proceedings while the appeals court takes a decision on whether Merchan was right. He also requested the court to consider the US Department of Justice’s refusal to prosecute Trump in his two federal cases after he was elected president.
He said, “There is no case law and that is true, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look at what has happened.” Gesmer disagreed with his argument, saying she does not find that analogy useful, CNN reported.
The judge also questioned the prosecution if there was any precedent that presidential immunity should be given to the president-elect. Later, Wu said, “There is none whatsoever for that claim” and added that the theory of immunity for a president-elect interferes with the idea that there is only one sitting president at a time.
If the appeals court decides against Trump after the hearing on Tuesday, he can still opt for other avenues to try to stop the sentencing on Friday. If Trump’s lawyers are able to stop the proceedings, the hush money case could go on for months while his attorneys pursue an appeal to toss out Trump’s conviction, CNN reported.
Earlier in May, Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records over payments to his then-lawyer Michael Cohen to reimburse a USD 130,000 hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to stop her from speaking about an alleged affair ahead of the election in 2016. US President-elect Donald Trump has denied the affair. (ANI)
