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President-elect Donald Trump has asked a New York judge to stay his sentence in his infamous money laundering case, which is scheduled for 10 January.
His lawyers announced on Monday that Trump will appeal Justice Juan Merchan’s decision to order the sentencing.
In court, Trump’s lawyers wrote that they wanted to “remove a politically charged case that was wrong from the start”.
Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records in May 2024, making him the first former president to be convicted.
The lawsuits stemmed from Trump’s attempt to disguise the paychecks to a major movie star as legitimate income.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and has denied any wrongdoing. His lawyers said the appeal should halt his trial in New York.
The ruling was repeatedly delayed by the 2024 presidential election and Trump’s attempts to have the case dismissed based on the president’s wishes. Justice Merchan ultimately rejected the defense argument in December.
On January 3, Justice Merchan issued an order to continue sentencing before Trump takes office, but wrote that he would not consider any arrest warrants.
He ordered Trump to appear in person or in person for a hearing.
“The American people elected President Trump with a strong mandate that calls for the abolition of political tools in the criminal justice system and all remaining Witch Hunts,” said Steven Cheung, a spokesman for President Trump’s transition.
Trump’s team has not publicly said whether the president-elect will be in court, but in response Monday afternoon to a request that he be present, the Manhattan district attorney’s office cited “the defendant’s decision to appear to plead in person”. The talk about listening was apparently repeated a few pages later.
In response, the district attorney asked the judge to deny Trump’s request to overturn his decision, saying he would not be swayed by such a decision.
A few weeks later the decision was met with numerous filings from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case, and Trump’s legal team.
Bragg’s office has previously said it would not oppose delaying Trump’s decision until after his term in office, four years from now.
But after Justice Merchan decided to continue the sentence, Bragg asked the judge to continue the sentencing on Friday.
In his opinion last week, Mr. Justice Merchan wrote that it is “the firm belief of this court that only in this case” will the disputes involved be resolved.
However, the judge left the door open for Trump to appeal the decision, writing that he “must be allowed to answer any available charges”.
