(Jan 6): Donald Trump asked a New York appeals court to stop his hush money sentencing set for Jan 10 while the US president-elect tries again to overturn his guilty verdict ahead of his inauguration.

Trump’s lawyers on Monday filed a request to pause the sentencing so he can appeal a decision last week in Manhattan by Justice Juan Merchan, who ruled the jury’s verdict cannot be vacated because presidential immunity doesn’t extend to a president-elect. Even if the sentencing goes forward, Merchan has indicated that he will not sentence Trump to any time behind bars.

Still, last week’s decision is a blow to Trump’s effort to put the case behind him and sets the stage for a another court hearing just 10 days before he takes the oath of office. Merchan said Trump can appear either in person or virtually.

“The court should vacate the sentencing hearing scheduled for Jan 10, 2025, and suspend all further deadlines in the case until President Trump’s immunity appeals are fully and finally resolved, which should result in a dismissal of this case, which should have never been brought in the first place,” Trump’s lawyers said in Monday’s filing.

A Manhattan jury in May found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal payments to an adult film star before the 2016 election. Trump used the case and three other criminal prosecutions to portray himself as a victim of biased Democratic prosecutors.

But in seeking to overturn his conviction, Trump has argued that the case will harm his ability to serve as the president after the November election and that some evidence was improperly presented to the jury.

“The American people elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate that demands an immediate end to the political weaponisation of our justice system and all of the remaining witch hunts,” Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump, said in a statement.

Trump also asked the appeals court to notify the parties by 2pm New York time if the court intends to have the sentencing hearing proceed.

With jail off the table, Merchan said a sentence of an “unconditional discharge” was the most viable solution, meaning the 78-year-old incoming president would face no real penalty other than having the conviction remain on his record. In theory, Trump could have faced up to four years in prison, though the judge said prosecutors already conceded that wasn’t a “practicable recommendation”.

Trump’s lawyers said it was irrelevant that the judge would not impose a sentence of incarceration, because any sentence at all — even unconditional discharge — would be unconstitutional.

“While it is indisputable that the fabricated charges in this meritless case should have never been brought, and at this point could not possibly justify a sentence more onerous than that, no sentence at all is appropriate based on numerous legal errors — including legal errors directly relating to presidential immunity that President Trump will address in the forthcoming appeals,” Trump’s lawyers said in the filing.

Last month, Merchan rejected a separate request to dismiss the hush money case, based on Trump’s arguments that the trial was tainted by testimony and other evidence that wouldn’t have been allowed under a US Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity that was handed down in a different case last year.

Last week’s decision addressed broader claims that the case couldn’t move forward in light of his win in the November election. The appeal Trump is filing will cover both of the decisions related to presidential immunity.

Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee