On Tuesday, a New York appeal judge reportedly refused to postpone President-elect Trump’s sentence for his criminal conviction related to hush money, which was scheduled for Friday.
Trump filed an emergency motion to instantly stop the hearing, which would have solidified his felony status before he could return to the White House, but Judge Ellen Gesmer of the state’s midlevel appeals court denied it.
As he appeals two decisions by Judge Juan Merchan that upheld his conviction on 34 counts of fabricating business documents to hide a hush money payment to a porn star, Trump is now anticipated to seek a full panel to halt the sentence process.
Trump, however, has asked for a hearing date of January 27, one week after the inauguration, when it is anticipated that the lawsuit would be suspended.
Last week, Merchan dismissed the incoming president’s claims that the case should be closed because of his election triumph and said that Trump might still be sentenced in spite of his impending inauguration.
The court had earlier determined that the conviction could hold up against the Supreme Court’s historic ruling that granted past presidents criminal immunity.
Trump’s lawyers contended that any proceedings in Merchan’s court should be immediately halted due to their plan to appeal those “incorrect” rulings.
The president-elect’s legal team has long maintained that the Supreme Court’s decision shielded official evidence from the jury, including testimony from White House officials and Trump’s social media posts while in office.
They have separately argued that the case has to be dismissed because the immunity protections granted to a serving president should be extended to the transitional period while he is president-elect.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office argued against any postponement of the sentencing, claiming that it is the only proceeding left and that the president-elect’s delay tactics are to blame for its closeness to Trump’s inauguration.
In relation to a hush money payment made to porn actress Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election in order to keep an alleged affair hidden, a New York jury convicted Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying company records.
Merchan has already indicated that he plans to sentence Trump to an unconditional discharge, which would uphold his conviction without enforcing any penalties, including jail time, in light of his impending return to the White House.
[READ MORE: Trump Lawyers Request Delay of Planned Sentencing in Hush Money Case]
