Trump is asking a New York court to dismiss a pre-trial motion for money by Reuters
Written by Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump asked a New York court on Tuesday to overturn his conviction on charges stemming from a hush money payment to a sex star, and to dismiss the case ahead of his sentencing on Friday.
The appeals court’s request marked Trump’s last-ditch effort to block the lower court’s decision on Monday to proceed with Friday’s sentence, 10 days before Trump’s January 20 inauguration.
In Monday’s decision, Justice Juan Merchan rejected a request by Trump’s lawyers to delay the sentencing while they appealed two of his previous rulings related to a Manhattan jury’s conviction in May on 34 counts of perjury.
The judge wrote that Trump’s request for a delay was “repetitive of arguments he has raised many times in the past.”
Scheduled for Trump’s sentencing on Friday, Merchan said he had no intention of sending Trump to prison. He said a conditional discharge, which effectively puts a felony conviction on his record without a fine or probation, would be the most effective option given Trump’s impending inauguration.
Citing both the president’s immunity and the demands of Trump’s upcoming inauguration, his lawyers Monday morning said Merchan’s intention not to punish Trump is “temporary.”
“Violation of the president’s security laws cannot be ignored in favor of an urgent sentence before being put in office,” the lawyers wrote in the court.
The case stems from a $130,000 payment Trump lawyer Michael Cohen made to veteran film actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet before the 2016 election about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies. Trump, who belongs to the Republican party, defeated Mrs. Hillary Clinton of the Democratic Alliance in that election.
Trump has long argued that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, brought the case to hurt his 2024 re-election campaign. Bragg said his office often brings falsified business records cases.
The hush money case made Trump the first US president – sitting or former – to be impeached and convicted.
Since the decision came out, his lawyers have tried twice to have the case withdrawn, and they say they are planning to appeal it.
Merchan previously rejected their argument that the US Supreme Court’s finding in July in a separate criminal case against Trump that presidents cannot be prosecuted for official acts means the hush money case should be dismissed. Merchan ruled that the hush money case affected Trump’s behavior.
After Trump won re-election, his lawyers argued that having him charged while president would undermine his ability to govern. Merchan denied that request, writing that the annulment of the judge’s decision would undermine the law.
