A Manhattan judge has denied President-elect Donald Trump’s request to postpone his sentencing in a hush-money case, set for just over a week before his inauguration.
Judge Juan Merchan upheld his prior decision despite appeals from Trump’s legal team, rejecting the bid on Monday to delay the high-profile case.
Trump, convicted of falsifying business records in 2023, faces sentencing on January 10, 2025, though jail time is unlikely.
Trump’s legal team argued that his recent electoral victory should warrant a delay, but the court maintained that the proceedings must continue as planned. The sentencing is set for Friday, January 10, just ten days before Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States.
Judge Merchan noted in his ruling that Trump’s arguments largely repeated earlier motions that had been previously rejected. “Defendant’s motion for a stay of these proceedings… is hereby denied,” Merchan wrote. Trump’s attorneys had asked the judge to delay sentencing while they appealed his conviction by a Manhattan jury.
Merchan indicated he is considering an unconditional discharge, sparing Trump both imprisonment and probation. However, this would still make him the first US president to enter the White House as a convicted felon.
Trump, 78, was certified the winner of the 2024 election after a contentious campaign. His second term begins January 20, 2025, marking a remarkable political comeback after his 2020 defeat and the Capitol riot that followed.
