Trump seeks to delay sentencing in New York before taking office as president

• Trump seeks to postpone his sentencing.
• Judge Merchan rejects the arguments.
• Sentencing scheduled for Friday.

President-elect Donald Trump’s legal team asked a judge to postpone his sentencing scheduled for Jan. 10 in New York.

Judge Juan Merchan ruled that the sentence could proceed this Friday, despite Trump’s imminent inauguration.

The president-elect’s lawyers argue that his electoral victory should put an end to the case.

In a new legal document, they noted that an appeal for presidential immunity automatically suspends all proceedings.

Trump requests to cancel sentencing and describes the case as a ‘hoax without merit’

They requested to cancel the sentencing hearing and suspend the deadlines until the appeals are resolved.

“The case, which should never have been filed, should be dismissed in its entirety,” the attorneys wrote.

They asked the judge to notify the parties of his decision before 2 pm on Monday.

Steven Cheung, Trump’s spokesman, called the case a «meritless hoax» and called for its immediate dismissal.

Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg has not commented on the matter.

A New York jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts related to falsifying business records.

The charges are linked to a hush payment to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

The case in New York is the only one of the criminal proceedings against Trump that has gone to trial.

Since his election victory, two federal cases have been dropped, while charges in Georgia remain on hold.

Judge Merchan rejected Trump’s attempts to dismiss the case after the election.

You may be interested in:Trump reacts after mass attack in New Orleans and blames migrants

Trump has argued that evidence seen by the jury is protected by presidential immunity.

His lawyers also claim that immunity should extend to the presidential transition period.

Merchan dismissed these arguments and confirmed the conviction, scheduling the sentencing for this Friday.

The judge considered that delaying the sentence until after the presidential term was “less desirable.”

Trump maintains that defending himself at this time would compromise presidential immunity in the middle of the transition period.

To listen to the podcast of this and other news, click on the photo