Trump Files Motion to Stay Sentencing in Hush Money Case
President-elect Donald Trump has filed a motion to delay his sentencing in the ongoing New York v. Trump case, seeking to block the scheduled hearing on January 10. The move comes as Trump’s legal team challenges the upcoming ruling, citing constitutional grounds and legal precedents.
Trump’s spokesman and incoming White House communications director, Steven Cheung, issued a statement Monday, calling for an immediate halt to what he referred to as a “Witch Hunt” orchestrated by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
“Today, President Trump’s legal team moved to stop the unlawful sentencing in the Manhattan D.A.’s Witch Hunt,” Cheung told Fox Digital. “The Supreme Court’s historic decision on Immunity, the state constitution of New York, and other established legal precedent mandate that this meritless hoax be immediately dismissed.”
Trump’s legal team informed Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan in a motion filed Monday that they plan to appeal his decision to reject their request for case dismissal. The legal team is seeking dismissal based on a 2024 Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, which Trump asserts protects him from prosecution for actions tied to his official duties.
“The Court should vacate the sentencing hearing scheduled for January 10, 2025, and suspend all further deadlines in the case until President Trump’s immunity appeals are fully and finally resolved,” his attorneys wrote to Merchan, according to NBC News.
This filing follows the legal team’s previous attempt to have the criminal case dismissed, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity.
However, the motion to delay sentencing is grounded in the belief that the case is politically motivated.
“The American People elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate that demands an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and all of the remaining Witch Hunts,” Cheung added. “We look forward to uniting our country in the new administration as President Trump makes America great again.”
Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 10, just 10 days before his anticipated inauguration on Jan. 20. Merchan previously ruled that Trump would not face prison time, stating he would likely issue an “unconditional discharge,” meaning no formal punishment would be imposed.
Trump was convicted in May 2024 on 34 counts of falsifying business records. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office had accused him of falsifying records to conceal a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, a former adult film actress, during the 2016 presidential campaign. The payment was made to silence Daniels over claims of an affair with Trump in 2006, which Trump has denied. He has maintained his innocence throughout the trial, calling the charges politically motivated.
“Virtually every legal scholar and pundit says THERE IS NO (ZERO!) CASE AGAINST ME,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social Sunday evening. “The Judge fabricated the facts, and the law, no different than the other New York Judicial and Prosecutorial Witch Hunts. That’s why businesses are fleeing New York, taking with them millions of jobs, and BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TAXES.”
“The legal system is broken, and businesses can’t take a chance in getting caught up in this quicksand. IT’S ALL RIGGED, in this case against a political opponent, ME!!!”
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