Judge Merchan Denies Trump Request to Delay Sentencing

A New York judge on Monday denied President-elect Donald Trump's request made earlier in the day to delay sentencing in his business records case, with sentencing still scheduled for Jan. 10. 

Trump’s lawyers earlier Monday petitioned Judge Juan M. Merchan for the delay, saying they planned to ask a state appeals court to reverse Merchan's decision last week, which set the case for sentencing on Friday.

Merchan rejected Trump’s bid to throw out the verdict and dismiss the indictment in light of his impending return to the White House.

In his ruling Monday, Merchan wrote that Trump "is unlikely to prevail on the merits of any interlocutory appeals."

Further, he wrote, "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 arguments he has raised numerous times in the past, including in his Criminal Procedure Law motion to vacate his conviction and dismiss the indictment; and his 'Clayton Motion' to dismiss in the interests of justice, both of which this Court denied by Decision."