A New York appeals court on Thursday rejected a request to halt former President Trump's criminal case stemming from an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals said in a filing that it denied Trump's request for an emergency administrative stay in New York v. Trump following Judge Juan Marchan's decision to delay the former president's sentencing until after the presidential election.
Trump responds to Bragg case delay: 'This case needs to end'
Trump's sentencing was scheduled for September 18th, but Judge Marchan granted the former president's request to postpone the sentencing date until later in November, November 26th.
In a letter to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals this week, Trump's legal team asked for a stay of the case, arguing that there wasn't enough time between the November 12 ruling on presidential immunity and the November 26 ruling to file an appeal.
Bragg's office said a stay was “legally impossible” and “unnecessary given that the state criminal court has delayed the sentence,” and argued that Trump still has time to appeal the presidential immunity decision before the sentence is imposed.
Trump's initial sentencing was scheduled for July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention, where Trump was set to be formally nominated as the Republican Party's 2024 presidential candidate, but Judge Juan Marchan agreed to postpone the sentencing until September 18.
Former President Trump and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. (Emily Elconin/Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
President Trump has asked that the trial be postponed until after Election Day, citing “blatant attempts to interfere in the election.”
Judge Marchan granted the request last week and postponed the sentence date to November 26 “if necessary”.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and appealed the verdict. His lawyer, Todd Blanche, said the verdict should be overturned under Supreme Court rulings on presidential immunity, which give the president limited immunity for acts performed in official capacity.
Judge Marchan is scheduled to rule on President Trump's motion to annul on November 12.
Judge Marchan postpones Trump's sentencing until after the election
Blanche also noted that Marchand's daughter works for Authentic Campaigns, which represents top Democratic candidates.
In arguing for not prosecuting, Ms. Blanche argued that Mr. Bragg introduced evidence of his official conduct during the unprecedented six-week criminal trial, which she said included official communications with White House staffers Hope Hicks, Madeleine Westerhout and others.
of The Supreme Court has ruled in the case of Trump v. United States. The Supreme Court ruled that former presidents are effectively immune from prosecution for official acts performed while in office, but not for unofficial acts. The Supreme Court found that Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts,” but left it to lower courts to decide where the line is between official and unofficial acts.
Trump spoke exclusively to Fox News Digital in an interview after Judge Marchan granted the former president's request to postpone the ruling until after the November presidential election.
“The lawsuit was delayed because everybody realized there was no case to be made and that I had done nothing wrong,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “This is a lawsuit that should never have been filed.”
“The public understands that, and every legal scholar who has looked at it and studied it understands that,” Trump said.
“I have a lot of respect for the word 'if necessary' that's used in this ruling, because there should be no 'if necessary',” Trump said. “This case should end.”
Trump was referring to part of a letter Marchand sent on Friday in which he notified Trump's lawyers of the delay and said, “Sentencing in this matter will be postponed, if necessary, until November 26, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.”
Marchant also said Friday that “public confidence in the integrity of our justice system demands a sentencing hearing that is focused entirely on the jury's verdict and on consideration of aggravating and mitigating factors, without confusion or distortion.”
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After a six-week trial that stemmed from an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Trump was convicted of all 34 first-degree charges of falsifying business records in an unprecedented criminal trial.
“The Manhattan District Attorney's Office's witch hunt for election interference does not require sentencing. Following the orders of the U.S. Supreme Court, this case should be dismissed along with the other Harris-Biden fraud cases,” Trump campaign spokesman Stephen Chang told Fox News Digital.
