Trump's Sentencing for Falsifying Business Records to Proceed Friday

Trump's Sentencing for Falsifying Business Records to Proceed

The New York Supreme Court has denied President-elect Donald Trump's request to delay his sentencing for falsifying business records. The sentencing is currently scheduled for Friday, just 10 days before Trump's inauguration.

Trump was convicted last year on 34 felony counts related to a "hush money" payment made to an adult film star just before the 2016 presidential election. The payment was wired before his first presidency, but a jury concluded that Trump, while president, authorized a scheme to falsify the related records.

Trump's lawyers have argued that it was unconstitutional for the jury to be shown evidence and testimony from the years when Trump was in office. They also claim that a president's immunity from criminal proceedings extends to the transition period between election and the oath of office.

However, New York prosecutors have argued that Trump's past and upcoming service as President, his history, character, and condition do not support dismissal of the charges. They also point out that there is only one President at a time, and that Trump's temporary presidential immunity does not fully immunize him from all state-court criminal process.

The winding investigation that led to Trump's indictment began during his first presidency in 2018. The case has already been to the Supreme Court, which ruled in 2020 that the Manhattan district attorney had the power to subpoena Trump's tax records.

Trump was originally scheduled to be sentenced last July, but the proceedings were postponed after the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision finding former presidents cannot be prosecuted for official actions taken while in office. The sentencing was then set for September, but was pushed back again to avoid interfering with the presidential campaign.

After Trump was elected to a second term in early November, a Nov. 26 hearing was delayed as the president-elect and Manhattan prosecutors argued over how to proceed with the case. New York Justice Juan Merchan last week scheduled the sentencing for Friday.