Judge Merchan Denies Trump’s Request To Delay Hush Money Sentencing

President-elect Donald Trump’s request to delay sentencing in his hush money trial was denied by Judge Juan Merchan on Monday, and Trump is still set to appear for his sentencing hearing on Friday — just 10 days before the inauguration.

Trump’s lawyers filed a motion earlier on Monday to delay the sentencing. In response to the filing, Merchan wrote, “Defendant’s motion for a stay of these proceedings, including the sentencing hearing scheduled for January 10, 2025, is hereby DENIED,” Fox News reported. The president-elect’s legal team also asked a New York appeals court to reverse Merchan’s ruling. Trump can also still ask an appeals court to delay the sentencing, according to the Associated Press.

Steven Cheung, the incoming White House communications director, said earlier on Monday that the sentencing is “unlawful,” adding, “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.”

Last week, Merchan denied Trump’s motion to vacate the guilty verdict in the hush money case against him and ordered Trump to appear for his sentencing. Trump’s lawyers said that if the sentencing goes forward, the president-elect will appear virtually. Merchan suggested that he would issue a sentence of an “unconditional discharge,” meaning Trump would not face any punishment, according to Fox News.

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Trump was found guilty on all charges in the hush money case last May. He was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to hide payments that were allegedly sent to porn actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence on an alleged extramarital affair. Trump denied the charges and said that the trial was politically motivated.

On Saturday, Trump ripped Judge Merchan, writing on Truth Social, “I never falsified business records. It is a fake, made up charge by a corrupt judge who is just doing the work of the Biden/Harris Injustice Department, an attack on their political opponent, ME! He created a case where there was none. Keeps a ‘gag order’ on me so that I can’t talk about how crooked he is. The Fake News knows all about it, but they refuse to talk.”