Judge denies Trump's demand to delay fraud sentencing
A New York judge has responded to Donald Trump's request to delay his sentencing in his New York fraud trial.
After months of delays, on Monday afternoon, Juan Merchan ordered Trump to be sentenced 10 days before being sworn into office, rebuffing Trump's demand to stay the sentencing for the trial in which he was found guilty by a jury on 34 counts.
In a two-page filing, Merchan wrote: "This Court has considered Defendant's arguments in support of his motion and finds that they are for the most part, a repetition of the arguments he has raised numerous times in the past.. both of which this Court denied by Decision and Order dated December 16, 2024 and January 3, 2025."
Trump's filing alleges that Merchan ignored his Dec. 16 filing, in which he asserted he has absolute immunity thanks to the Supreme Court through "established law and jurisprudence."
Trump's argument has faced questions, as the crimes he was convicted of committing occurred before he became president in 2017.
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Trump's team also argued that all proceedings should be stayed.
"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 and must, therefore, immediately vacate the sentencing hearing scheduled for January 10, 2025," they argued.
Trump's lawyers asked the judge to respond by 2 p.m. Shortly after their deadline, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg responded to Trump's motion, explaining why Trump's request should be denied.
By the close of business Monday, Merchan denied Trump's demand, saying his legal reasoning wasn't clear or relevant.
"Further, this court finds that the authorities relied upon in the instant motion by the Defendant are, for the most part, factually distinguishable from the actual record or legally inapplicable," Merchan said.