Appeals court rejects Trump's latest attempt to get Friday's hush money sentencing delayed

A state appeals court on Tuesday denied a request by President-elect Donald Trump to delay his sentencing for his historic hush money conviction.

"After consideration of the papers submitted and extensive oral argument, movant's application for an interim stay is denied," wrote Associate Justice Ellen Gesmer, of the New York Appellate Division, First Department, in court papers Tuesday.

Trump's legal team had attempted to stay Friday's scheduled sentencing, which is not expected to result in jail time or probation for the incoming president. They argued that he has presidential immunity from prosecution — a legal argument that has failed repeatedly at the trial judge level.

A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of paying hush money to an adult film actress in order to cover up a sexual liaison and to influence the 2016 presidential election.

On Monday, state Supreme Court Justice Juan M. Merchan had rejected the arguments from Trump's legal team to delay the sentencing.

"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," Merchan wrote Monday afternoon.

Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche, who Trump has named as deputy attorney general in his incoming administration, had said that Trump would file an Article 78 proceeding, which is basically a fast-tracked lawsuit against a government entity or state official, as well as a direct appeal in the Appellate Division, First Department, "seeking review of the Court’s two recent incorrect rulings on Presidential immunity."

Blanche did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the hush money case against Trump, opposed the defense motion for a stay in court papers filed Monday, and said Trump's appeals do not "automatically stay proceedings in this Court," the prosecution wrote.

Last Friday, Merchan upheld Trump's conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records in order to sway voters in the 2016 presidential election and set Trump's sentencing, which had appeared to have been delayed indefinitely, for this Friday — just 10 days before Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th president.

Merchan has signaled that Trump, the first former president to be convicted of a crime, was unlikely to receive a jail sentence.

"It seems proper at this juncture to make known the Court’s inclination to not impose any sentence of incarceration," the judge wrote.

Merchan added: "A sentence of an unconditional discharge appears to be the most viable solution to ensure finality and allow Defendant to pursue his appellate options."

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.