Former President Trump on Wednesday tried again to delay his criminal sentencing, which is just two weeks away.
Trump wants the hush money lawsuit moved from state court to federal court, but U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected that effort in a ruling issued Tuesday.
The former president's lawyers have renewed their urging for Hellerstein to suspend the denial as they appeal to two courts.and The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit appears to be hoping to delay Trump's September 18 sentencing until the appeal is resolved.
“The American people have an interest in having a free and fair election without having to worry about the possibility that President Trump may be wrongfully jailed by local authorities in a single county,” Trump lawyers Emil Bove and Todd Branche wrote. Court filings.
“Thus, while the Second Circuit determines whether there is an appropriate forum in this district, the public would benefit from a stay that would allow Judge Marchan to avoid the 'thorny questions of comity and federalism' that would come with a presidential immunity defense and a possible sentencing of President Trump just weeks before the election,” they continued.
Trump was convicted in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with hush money deals made during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump has twice tried to link his prosecution with his official duties as president and move the case from state court to federal court in a procedure known as transpiration.
Judge Hellerstein dismissed Trump's first appeal months before his trial and sent the case back to state court, but Trump later withdrew his appeal.
President Trump recently launched a second offensive, clinging to the Supreme Court's landmark presidential immunity decision and arguing that federal courts should take over.
Hellerstein, who was appointed by former President Clinton, rejected Trump's request on Tuesday, writing that the “Supreme Court's decision does not affect my prior conclusions in any way.”
“President Trump respectfully dissents from the Court's opinion,” Trump's lawyers wrote in the new filing.
The move indicates that Trump is questioning the two as well.and The circuit court will stay its ruling until the former president's appeal is resolved.
This is one of several strategies employed by Trump's legal team to delay a ruling until after the presidential election, when they hope Trump will win and put an end to the litigation.
Lawyers for the defendants separately asked a state judge to postpone sentencing until after the election.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's (D) office has opposed Trump's attempt to delay the sentencing so the court can be moved, but has said it is open to a delay for other reasons.
