Donald Trump Stung in New Legal Loss After Sentencing Request

Former President Donald Trump’s efforts to pause his criminal sentencing in New York were struck down by a federal appeals court on Thursday.
In a one-page order, three judges on the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals denied Trump’s request for the court to order a stay on his hush money conviction until the appellate judges can hear arguments on whether the case should be moved to federal court.
The former president was convicted on 34 felony counts in May after a Manhattan jury found him guilty of falsifying business records to conceal his connection to a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election. Daniels testified that the $130,000 payment was intended to keep her quiet about an extramarital affair she had with Trump years prior.
Trump had requested that the case be moved to a federal court back in August, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling over the summer that found presidents are immune from facing criminal charges for actions they took under their official duty.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied that request in September, writing in his order that the case deals with “private, unofficial acts, outside the bounds of executive authority.” Trump then moved to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, asking that judges put Hellerstein’s decision on hold until it considers his request to move the case.
The federal appeals court, however, denied Trump’s emergency stay motion, citing Judge Juan Merchan’s decision to postpone Trump’s sentencing date until after the 2024 presidential election.
Merchan said in a decision last week that Trump’s sentencing is now scheduled for November 26, three weeks after voters cast their ballots. The judge also set a date for November 12 to consider Trump’s argument that the hush money case should be thrown out in its entirety given the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling.
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign via email Thursday evening for comment.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 charges against him in the case and has blamed prosecutors, led by Manhattan Attorney General Alvin Bragg, of attempting to interfere in his reelection chances. Merchan wrote in his decision last week that he is postponing Trump’s sentencing “to avoid any appearance—however unwarranted—that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching Presidential election.”
Bragg pushed back on Trump’s request for an emergency stay in a response filed Monday, writing to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that Trump’s motion is “not only legally unavailable, but also unnecessary,” given Merchan’s adjournment of Trump’s original sentencing date, which was scheduled for September 18.
“That adjournment eliminates any exigency or irreparable injury that would support a stay pending appeal here,” Bragg wrote. “There is now no chance that defendant will be sentenced, let alone incarcerated, ‘in the final weeks of the Presidential election, while early voting is ongoing.'”
Update 09/12/24, 7:19 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and background.