Trump loses New York appeal to stop Jan. 10 hush money sentencing

Donald Trump lost an appeal to halt his Jan. 10 sentencing in his hush money criminal case, though he still has further means to try to stop the proceedings as he prepares to be sworn in as the 47th US president later this month.

A New York appeals court judge on Tuesday refused a last-minute request by Trump to delay the sentencing, while he seeks to overturn his guilty verdict. The decision was issued after a brief hearing where Associate Justice Ellen Gesmer expressed deep skepticism of Trump’s arguments.

Trump could still appeal to New York state’s highest court or even a federal appeals court, which could put the matter on track to the US Supreme Court. 

The lower court judge who oversaw the trial, Justice Juan Merchan, has already indicated that he won’t sentence Trump to any time behind bars or even probation, opting instead for an “unconditional discharge” due to the unique circumstances of the case. But the president-elect argues that allowing the verdict to remain intact would violate presidential immunity.

Merchan previously ruled that Trump, as president-elect, didn’t yet have the immunity and that his election victory had no impact on the verdict. The judge also rejected Trump’s argument that the trial was tainted by evidence that shouldn’t have been allowed under the US Supreme Court’s standard on presidential immunity related to his last term in office.