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Former President Donald Trump sits in a courtroom next to his lawyer Todd Blanche before the start of the day’s proceedings in the Manhattan Criminal court, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in New York (Dave Sanders/The New York Times via AP, Pool).
Donald Trump has asked the New York state judge presiding over his criminal hush-money case to halt this Friday’s sentencing hearing while he appeals the court’s decision to uphold his conviction on 34 felony charges.
In Monday’s filing, Trump’s defense attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove notified Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan that the president-elect would seek the reversal of Merchan’s decision not to throw out the case based on jurisprudence granting presidents immunity from prosecution for any official acts taken while in office.
The 17-page filing states that Trump is challenging Merchan’s Dec. 16 order, which rejected Trump’s claim of “presidential immunity based on evidentiary use of official acts,” as well as Merchan’s Jan. 3 order denying Trump’s motion to dismiss based on his “claim of sitting-presidential immunity as extended into the transitional period while Trump is President-elect.”
In typical fashion, Trump also used the opportunity to malign Merchan and prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for bringing the charges against him in the first place while arguing that the appeal should trigger an immediate halt of the case at the trial level.
“As discussed herein, the commencement of appellate proceedings — which should result in a dismissal of this politically-motivated prosecution that was flawed from the very beginning, centered around the wrongful actions and false claims of a disgraced, disbarred serial-liar former attorney, violated President Trump’s due process rights, and had no merit — seeking interlocutory review of these claims of Presidential immunity immediately results in an automatic stay of proceedings in this Court,” the document states. “Due to the fact that further criminal proceedings are automatically stayed by operation of federal constitutional law, the Court will lack authority to proceed with sentencing, must therefore immediately vacate the sentencing hearing scheduled for January 10, 2025, and suspend all proceedings in the case until the conclusion of President Trump’s appeal on Presidential immunity.”
Merchan on Friday issued an 18-page order refusing to vacate the case against Trump, but signaled that the former and soon-to-be president is not likely not face any real legal consequences and granted Trump’s request to appear virtually for the hearing.
“While this Court as a matter of law must not make any determination on sentencing prior to giving the parties and Defendant an opportunity to be heard, it seems proper at this juncture to make known the Court’s inclination to not impose any sentence of incarceration, a sentence authorized by the conviction but one the People concede they no longer view as a practicable recommendation,” the order reads.
The judge went on to muse that the “most viable solution to ensure finality” and allow Trump to exhaust his appellate rights is by sentencing him to “unconditional discharge.” This form of sentence equates to no further consequences and is typically used when a judge determines there is no practical import to imposing any legal disability on a convicted criminal defendant.
While ultimately letting Trump off the hook without punishment, Merchan’s order had some harsh words for the president-elect regarding his attitude and demeanor throughout the proceedings.
“Defendant’s disdain for the Third Branch of government, whether state or federal, in New York or elsewhere, is a matter of public record,” Merchan wrote. “Indeed, Defendant has gone to great lengths to broadcast on social media and other forums his lack of respect for judges, juries, grand juries and the justice system as a whole.”
To that end, the judge said, Trump’s historical and ongoing disdain for legal proceedings he dislikes was taken into account by the court when deciding whether to dismiss Trump’s indictment and convictions.
“Defendant’s character and history vis-à-vis the Rule of Law and the Third Branch of government must be analyzed under this factor in direct relation to the result he seeks, and in that vein, it does not weigh in his favor,” Merchan wrote.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung reiterated the president-elect’s condemnation of the case as being politically motivated in a statement to CBS News
Today, President Trump’s legal team moved to stop the unlawful sentencing in the Manhattan D.A.’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. The American People elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate that demands an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and all of the remaining Witch Hunts. We look forward to uniting our country in the new administration as President Trump makes America great again.
Trump requested that Merchan rule on his request to stay the proceedings within a few hours, asking the court to notify the parties of his decision by 2 p.m. on Monday.
Journalist Frank Runyeon, who covers New York courts for Law360, reported that clerks at the appellate court and central criminal court in the state had not received Trump’s appeal documents as of 10 a.m. Monday morning.
