A New York judge on Tuesday rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s latest attempt to delay sentencing in his “hush money” criminal case. The hearing remains scheduled for Friday morning.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, argued during a brief hearing on Tuesday that a president’s immunity from criminal proceedings extends to the transition period, before taking the oath of office. His team has argued that Trump’s election meant Judge Juan Merchan should have had no choice but to dismiss Trump’s case and set aside his conviction.
Judge Ellen Gesmer responded to that idea during Tuesday’s hearing, noting that it has no legal precedent. Stephen Wu, an attorney for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, called the claim “baseless.”
When asked by Judge Gesmer for support for the idea that presidential immunity extends to elected presidents, Blanche replied, “There’s never been a case like this before, so, no.”
Gesmer also appeared to question the basis of another of Blanche’s arguments, that special counsel Jack Smith’s decision to end his federal cases against Trump is relevant to the New York case.
“None of these proceedings could have been concluded prior to your client’s inauguration,” Gesmer said, “while this proceeding can be concluded.”
Bragg’s office opposes pushing back the ruling again, which Merchan noted in his most recent order has already been delayed three times. Merchan further noted that Trump’s efforts to move the ruling past the election had made it inevitable that it would eventually have to take place in the transition period before the inauguration.
Trump is the first former president in history convicted of crimes. A jury unanimously concluded in May that it authorized a scheme to falsify records related to reimbursements for a “hush money” payment to an adult film star.
Sentencing was first scheduled for July 11, but was pushed back after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on presidential immunity. Later, a date of September 18 was postponed in order to avoid interfering with the presidential campaign. When Trump was elected, a Nov. 26 hearing was put on hold as the parties argued over whether to move forward with the case.
On Jan. 3, Merchan ordered Trump to appear for sentencing on Friday.