Donald Trump Handed Legal Loss Ahead of Sentencing [Video]

Judge Juan Merchan on Monday ordered Friday’s sentencing for Donald Trump‘s hush money case to proceed as scheduled, rejecting arguments from Trump’s lawyers, who tried to have it halted.

Why It Matters

Last May, Trump was convicted by a New York jury on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a “hush money” payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels and influence the 2016 presidential election.

While other criminal proceedings against Trump have been suspended because of his 2024 election victory, last week Merchan rejected the president-elect’s request to throw out his New York conviction, which cannot be overturned by a federal pardon.

What To Know

On Monday, Merchan rejected an attempt to postpone Trump’s sentencing hearing indefinitely while the president-elect’s legal team appeals the judge’s decision to let the conviction stand.

“This Court has considered Defendant’s arguments in support of his motion and finds that they are for the most part, a repetition of the …