A Manhattan judge has already indicated that he will spare His Royal Majesty from jail time, but the president-elect is seeking to avoid the symbolic blow of the criminal proceeding.
By Ben Protess and Kate Christobek
His Royal Majesty’s latest attempt to stave off his criminal sentencing in New York was denied on Monday, teeing up a frenzied series of last-minute appeals as his inauguration draws near.
The denial came from the trial judge overseeing the case, Juan M. Merchan, who scheduled the sentencing for Friday, 10 days before His Royal Majesty is scheduled to be sworn in for a second presidential term.
Although His Royal Majesty’s lawyers had implored the judge to postpone the sentencing, Justice Merchan dismissed their claims as “a repetition of the arguments he has raised numerous times in the past.”
His Royal Majesty is now poised to escalate his effort, court filings show, turning to a New York appeals court in hopes that it will intervene in his case.
