President-elect Donald Trump is trying to stop his sentencing in his Manhattan criminal case from taking place Friday as scheduled, as his lawyers filed a notice of appeal Monday arguing the sentencing should be halted until an appeals court rules on whether the guilty verdict against him should be thrown out.
Former President Donald Trump departs the courtroom after being found guilty on all 34 counts in his ... [+]
Trump is scheduled to be sentenced Friday after being found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, as Judge Juan Merchan scheduled the sentencing for Friday in an order that also threw out Trump’s request to have the verdict dropped.
Trump’s lawyers filed a notice of appeal with the court Monday, saying they will be appealing Merchan’s order to a higher state court and asking it to overturn Merchan’s decision and throw out the guilty verdict.
The sentencing should be automatically paused while Trump appeals Merchan’s ruling, Trump’s lawyers argued, or else Merchan should halt proceedings in the case—including the sentencing—until the appeals court rules.
It’s still unclear how long the appeals court could take to rule in the case, or if the issue will be resolved in time for Trump’s sentencing on Friday.
Trump is trying to have the guilty verdict against him thrown out because of his impending presidency, claiming that moving forward with the case would “threaten the functioning of the federal government” and violate the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution that prioritizes federal law over state law.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office, which brought the case against Trump, has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Merchan has not yet responded to Trump’s request to pause the sentencing, and it’s unclear when the judge could rule or how long it will take the appeals court to decide the case. Merchan acknowledged in his order scheduling Trump’s sentencing that should the appeals process postpone the sentencing past Inauguration Day, it’s possible the sentencing could be delayed until after Trump leaves office in 2029.
This story is breaking and will be updated.