New York City prosecutors are asking the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals to deny former President Donald Trump’s motion for the federal appellate court to order a stay on his hush money conviction.
Trump’s defense team argued in their motion last week that his sentencing in the case—where he was found guilty on 34 felony counts related to a hush money payment to an adult film star during his 2016 campaign—that the former president’s sentencing in the case should be delayed until the Second Court of Appeals can hear arguments on whether the case should be moved to federal court.
In a response filed Monday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg argued that the appeals court should deny Trump’s request because it “is not only legally unavailable, but also unnecessary” given Judge Juan Merchan’s decision to postpone Trump’s sentencing date until after the 2024 presidential election.
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“That adjournment eliminates any exigency or irreparable injury that would support a stay pending appeal here,” Bragg wrote in his motion Monday, referring to Merchan’s adjournment of Trump’s original sentencing date that was scheduled for September 18. “There is now no chance that defendant will be sentenced, let alone incarcerated, ‘in the final weeks of the Presidential election, while early voting is ongoing.'”
Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly sought to delay the former president’s sentencing date as the former president’s reelection campaign heats up. In a filing to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals last week, Trump attorney Emil Bove argued that “irreparable harm” would come if the sentencing took place before election day on November 5. That request was sent to New York federal judge Alvin Hellerstien, who has rejected Trump’s attempts to move the case to federal court on two separate occasions.
Merchan issued a decision on Friday to delay Trump’s sentencing until November 26, three weeks after the presidential election. He wrote in his decision that his postponement was “to avoid any appearance—however unwarranted—that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching presidential election in which the Defendant is a candidate.”
Trump has also sought to dismiss the case following the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling in July, which found that presidents are protected from facing criminal charges for actions they take as part of their official duties. Merchan said he will issue a ruling on Trump’s immunity claims on November 12.
The former president pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts of falsifying business records against him in the case and has repeatedly claimed that Bragg’s prosecution is a form of “election interference.” In a post to Truth Social on Friday, Trump called the case a “With Hunt” and again claimed, “I DID NOTHING WRONG!”
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign for further comment Monday.