NY top court denies delaying Trump sentencing
New York’s high court on Thursday declined to halt President-elect Trump’s sentencing on his hush money criminal conviction, which is scheduled for Friday morning.
In a terse note, the New York Court of Appeals’s chief clerk notified Trump’s attorneys that Judge Jenny Rivera declined to sign an order stopping the sentencing from moving forward, as the president-elect appeals and claims he is immune and the prosecution must be dismissed.
“As a result of the Judge’s determination, no motion is pending in the above title at the Court of Appeals,” the clerk wrote.
Trump has been attempting to block Friday’s sentencing on his 34 felony counts of falsifying business records ever since Judge Juan Merchan scheduled it late last week, even as the judge signaled he would not sentence the president-elect to prison time.
The president-elect still has an effort that remains pending at the U.S. Supreme Court, but Trump’s delay bid has now failed in all three levels of New York’s state court system.
Merchan previously rejected Trump’s arguments that his election victory should stop the case in its tracks, ruling that the sentencing could occur despite his imminent inauguration.
After hearing arguments from Trump’s attorneys and the state, Judge Ellen Gesmer of New York’s midlevel appeals court on Tuesday rejected Trump’s emergency petition to stop the sentencing.
Trump’s hopes of halting his sentencing now rest with the Supreme Court, which he asked to step in Wednesday. The president-elect's emergency application went to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who handles such appeals coming from New York. Sotomayor could act on the application alone or refer it to the full court for a vote.
“Forcing President Trump to prepare for a criminal sentencing in a felony case while he is preparing to lead the free world as President of the United States in less than two weeks imposes an intolerable, unconstitutional burden on him that undermines these vital national interests,” Trump’s attorneys argued.
Manhattan District Alvin Bragg (D) responded to Trump’s request Thursday morning, urging the justices to reject the president-elect's claims.
“There is a compelling public interest in proceeding to sentencing; the trial court has taken extraordinary steps to minimize any burdens on defendant, including by announcing his intent to sentence defendant to an unconditional discharge; and defendant has provided no record support for his claim that his duties as President-elect foreclose him from virtually attending a sentencing that will likely take no more than an hour,” Bragg’s office wrote.
Updated at 10:24 a.m. EST