US President-elect Donald Trump has asked a judge in New York to postpone his sentencing scheduled for January 10, based on his criminal conviction on charges stemming from secret money paid to a porn star.
Trump's lawyers said in a court filing that they plan to appeal the decisions of Judge Juan Mercan, who rejected Trump's requests to dismiss the case due to presidential immunity and obligations related to the presidential transition period, reports Reuters.
The lawyers, Tod Blanch and Emil Bov, asked Mercan to postpone the sentencing until the appeal procedure is completed. Any delay would mean Trump is unlikely to be sentenced before his January 20 inauguration.
Mercan scheduled sentencing for Friday, but indicated that Trump is unlikely to face jail time or other legal consequences. The judge said Trump, who is 78, can attend the sentencing in person or via video link.
The case concerns a $130.000 payment Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormi Daniels to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual relationship she claimed she had with Trump, which he denies.
After a six-week trial in state criminal court in Manhattan, a jury in May found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying documents to conceal the payment before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump spokesman Stephen Chung said Trump's victory in the Nov. 5 presidential election showed the American people want "an immediate end to the abuse of our justice system."
Trump, a Republican, has long argued that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, brought the case to hurt his re-election campaign. Breg said his office routinely brings charges for falsifying business documents.
A spokesman for Bragg's office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Trump's request for a delay in sentencing.
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