NEW YORK — An appeals court judge on Tuesday rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s last-ditch bid to halt his Friday sentencing for his criminal conviction in the Manhattan hush money case.
In a one-page decision, Associate Justice Ellen Gesmer wrote that Trump’s effort was “denied.”
Trump has asked the New York appeals court, known as the Appellate Division, First Department, to toss out the jury’s May verdict, which found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents. In his appeal, he argued that he is protected by presidential immunity — arguments that the trial judge, Justice Juan Merchan, rejected. Trump also sought to have the sentencing canceled while he appeals.
Gesmer appeared skeptical of arguments presented earlier Tuesday by Trump lawyer Todd Blanche. In particular, Gesmer questioned Blanche’s argument that presidential immunity should apply to a president-elect, making him or her ineligible to be sentenced.
“Do you have any support for the notion that presidential immunity extends to a president-elect?” she asked Blanche. “There has never been a case like this before, so no,” he replied.
Merchan has indicated that he won’t sentence the president-elect to prison given Trump is headed back to the White House in a matter of days.
Trump has asked the appeals court to hear his arguments on tossing the verdict on Jan. 27.