In a late ruling on Monday, a New York judge denied President-elect Donald Trump’s request to delay his sentencing hearing, scheduled for Friday, January 10. The decision, issued by state Judge Juan Merchan, marks another development in Trump’s ongoing legal battle just days before his inauguration.
Trump’s attorneys argued in a filing made public earlier Monday that the court should vacate the sentencing hearing and suspend all deadlines until appeals concerning presidential immunity are resolved. They contended that presidential immunity extends into the transition period and protects Trump not just from liability but from the legal process itself. The appeal requested a hearing date of January 27, one week after Trump’s inauguration.
Merchan, however, rejected the request in a swift ruling later that evening, “This Court has considered Defendant’s arguments in support of his motion and finds that they are for the most part, a repetition of the arguments he has raised numerous times in the past,” wrote Merchan according to NBC News.
Trump’s legal team’s primary contention centers on the constitutional protections afforded to a sitting president. They argue that Trump’s first-term immunity precluded the use of evidence regarding official conduct before the grand jury, which they claim tainted