Donald Trump’s legal team is pushing for another delay regarding his hush money sentencing, despite a judge already rescheduling the date beyond the presidential election.
In their recent filing with the New York Court of Appeals, Trump’s attorneys argue that the new sentencing date of November 26 could cause “irreparable harm.” They maintain that they are working to transfer the case to federal court.
They claim, “President Trump’s ability to seek appellate review of the district court’s ruling would be irreparably harmed, in the absence of a stay, because Justice [Juan] Merchan could move forward with sentencing and a ‘judgment of conviction’ before this appeal is resolved.”
If their appeal to transfer the case to federal court is successful, it’s expected to further delay proceedings.
As the Republican presidential nominee, Trump is facing trial in New York City on 34 counts related to falsifying business records tied to hush money payments made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels. He was convicted on all charges on May 30.
After initially postponing the sentencing from July to September to consider the Supreme Court’s July ruling on presidential immunity in Trump v. United States, Merchan moved the date again at Trump’s lawyers’ request.
On September 9, attorneys Emil Bove and Todd Blanche requested additional time to prepare their argument for why the case should be tried in federal court. They believe only a federal court can appropriately address the case after the Supreme Court granted Trump extensive immunity from prosecution, a standard that Merchan has struggled to apply since July.
Concerns have also been raised that there may be little time between Merchan’s ruling on Trump’s immunity and the upcoming sentencing, which could prevent them from seeking federal review before the sentencing date.
According to their filing, “Justice Merchan’s current schedule does not allow adequate time for interlocutory appellate review of a Presidential immunity ruling he is likely to issue before this appeal is resolved, which contradicts Trump v. United States.”
They emphasize their desire for a “fair and orderly litigation of the Presidential immunity defense” within the federal court system.
The lawyers also argue that, following the Supreme Court’s decision, much of the evidence in the hush money case should not have been admitted due to violations of presidential immunity.
Initially, they requested Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein to transfer the case to federal court, but were denied twice, prompting them to take their plea to the federal appeals court.