Appeals court rejects Trump's plea to postpone sentencing in the hush money matter
"Considering the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals has postponed the court's decision on sentencing until November 26, 2024, their three-judge panel chose to reject the urgent appeal for an administrative halt," the panel stated.
Trump petitioned the New York-based appellate court to intervene after a federal judge dismissed his proposition to transfer the state trial to federal court.
During the jury's appeal period, New York State Judge Juan Merchan, who serves as the presiding judge in the state trial, agreed to delay Trump's sentencing, initially scheduled for September 18. Merchan later postponed the sentencing date to after the November presidential election, hoping to avoid the perception of supporting one political side over another.
Trump's legal team argued that despite the state's postponement, they requested the appeals court to place a temporary halt on the case until they had time to fully challenge Trump's conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records shortly following the US Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity this summer.
The push for intervention in Trump's case stemmed from his belief that his request to move the state trial to federal court should be granted, which is a significant aspect of politics. Despite the jury's appeal period and New York State's postponement of Trump's sentencing, his legal team sought a temporary halt from the appeals court to contest his 34 counts of falsifying business records, a matter directly linked to politics.
