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Appeals court denies Trump’s bid to delay felony sentencing

homesafetytechpros — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 20:49:09 +0000

Donald Trump speaks at the annual Road to Majority conference in Washington, DC, June 22, 2024. (Allison Bailey/NurPhoto via AP)

An appeals court in New York has rejected Donald Trump’s latest bid to postpone this Friday’s sentencing hearing in his criminal hush-money case, marking the latest blow in the president-elect’s fight to have the case against him dismissed before he takes office later this month.

“After consideration of the papers submitted and the extensive oral argument, movant’s application for an interim stay is denied,” New York First Department Court of Appeals Associate Justice Ellen Gesmer wrote in a brief order following an emergency hearing on Tuesday.

The hearing was held after Trump on Monday asked Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan to delay the sentencing hearing while he sought reversal of the judge’s decision not to throw out the case based on landmark Supreme Court jurisprudence granting sitting presidents broad immunity from prosecution for official acts taken while in office.

In a 17-page filing, Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche wrote that he was challenging Merchan’s Dec. 16 order rejecting Trump’s claim of “presidential immunity based on evidentiary use of official acts,” as well as Merchan’s Jan. 3 order denying Trump’s motion to dismiss based on his “claim of sitting-presidential immunity as extended into the transitional period while Trump is President-elect.” He also claimed that filing the appeal should trigger an immediate and automatic stay of the proceedings.

Merchan responded later in the day Monday, denying Trump’s motion and saying that the president-elect’s filing was “for the most part, a repetition of the arguments he has raised numerous times in the past.” In his denial, Merchan appeared to be unmoved by Trump’s arguments.

“This Court finds that the authorities relied upon in the motion by the Defendant are for the most part, factually distinguishable from the actual record or legally inapplicable,” Merchan wrote.

Also on Monday, Trump’s attorneys filed a notice of appeal, reiterating the claim that Merchan’s ruling — that presidential immunity does not extend to the president-elect — was erroneous and should be reversed.

“Justice Merchan’s erroneous decisions threaten the institution of the Presidency and run squarely against established precedent disallowing any criminal process against a President-Elect, as well as prohibiting the use of evidence of a President’s official acts against him in a criminal proceeding,” the appeal stated.

From the outset of Tuesday’s emergency hearing, Gesmer appeared to signal that Trump’s appeal was not going to be successful as she did not appear receptive to Blanche’s argument regarding presidential immunity for the president-elect, according to a report from Courthouse News.

“Do you have any support for the notion that presidential immunity extends to presidents-elect?” Gesmer reportedly asked.

“There has never been any case like this before, so no,” Blanche, who Trump has already named as his deputy attorney general, reportedly replied.

Steven Wu, from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, reportedly jumped on that point.

“The claim is so baseless that there is no support for an automatic stay here,” Wu said. “Defense counsel has not cited any case … that supports the idea that a president-elect has the same immunity as a sitting president.”

Gesmer also rejected arguments about the sentencing being so close to Trump’s inauguration, reportedly explaining to Blanche that Merchan repeatedly delayed the hearing at Trump’s own request.

While Friday’s sentencing hearing is becoming more of a reality for Trump, Merchan has already signaled that he is likely to let the president-elect off the hook with no meaningful legal consequences and will allow Trump to appear remotely due to the rigors of the presidential transition period.

“While this Court as a matter of law must not make any determination on sentencing prior to giving the parties and Defendant an opportunity to be heard, it seems proper at this juncture to make known the Court’s inclination to not impose any sentence of incarceration, a sentence authorized by the conviction but one the People concede they no longer view as a practicable recommendation,” Merchan wrote.

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Judge rejects Trump bid to delay hush-money sentencing

homesafetytechpros — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 12:36:48 +0000

Left: Donald Trump speaks after voting in the Florida primary election in Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, March 19, 2024 (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee). Right: New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan poses for a picture in his chambers in New York, Thursday, March 14, 2024 (AP Photo/Seth Wenig).

The judge presiding over Donald Trump‘s criminal hush-money case has denied a motion from the president-elect to postpone Friday’s sentencing hearing.

New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan issued the order late on Monday, calling Trump’s motion “for the most part, a repetition of the arguments he has raised numerous times in the past.”

Early Monday, Trump had asked Merchan to halt the Jan. 10 sentencing while he appeals the court’s decision to uphold his conviction on 34 felony charges for falsifying business records.

Trump also used the opportunity to malign Merchan and prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for bringing the charges against him in the first place while arguing that the appeal should trigger an immediate halt of the case at the trial level.

“As discussed herein, the commencement of appellate proceedings — which should result in a dismissal of this politically-motivated prosecution that was flawed from the very beginning, centered around the wrongful actions and false claims of a disgraced, disbarred serial-liar former attorney, violated President Trump’s due process rights, and had no merit — seeking interlocutory review of these claims of Presidential immunity immediately results in an automatic stay of proceedings in this Court,” the document states. “Due to the fact that further criminal proceedings are automatically stayed by operation of federal constitutional law, the Court will lack authority to proceed with sentencing, must therefore immediately vacate the sentencing hearing scheduled for January 10, 2025, and suspend all proceedings in the case until the conclusion of President Trump’s appeal on Presidential immunity.”

Trump requested that Merchan rule on his request to stay the proceedings within a few hours, asking the court to notify the parties of his decision by 2 p.m. on Monday.

Hours after filing the stay, Trump’s attorneys filed a notice of appeal, arguing that Merchan’s ruling that immunity does not extend to the president-elect was erroneous and should be reversed.

The Manhattan DA’s Office, for their part, opposed Trump’s motion to delay sentencing, arguing in a motion Monday afternoon that “Contrary to defendant’s claim, the mere fact that he has invoked presidential immunity in an interlocutory appeal does not entitle him to an automatic stay of further trial proceedings pending appeal.”

Prosecutors also informed Merchan of their belief that Trump was unlikely to win his appeal.

Merchan in his denial appeared to be unmoved by Trump’s arguments.

“This Court finds that the authorities relied upon in the motion by the Defendant are for the most part, factually distinguishable from the actual record or legally inapplicable,” Merchan wrote.

Merchan on Friday issued an 18-page order refusing to vacate the case against Trump but signaled that the former and soon-to-be president is not likely not face any real legal consequences and granted Trump’s request to appear virtually for the hearing.

The judge went on to muse that the “most viable solution to ensure finality” and allow Trump to exhaust his appellate rights is by sentencing him to “unconditional discharge.” This form of sentence equates to no further consequences and is typically used when a judge determines there is no practical import to imposing any legal disability on a convicted criminal defendant.

Law&Crime’s Jerry Lambe contributed to this report.

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Cannon skeptical of delay in alleged Trump assassin case

homesafetytechpros — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 06:21:40 +0000

Left: Aileen M. Cannon (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida). Right: Ryan Wesley Routh arrested by deputies in Florida on Sept. 15, 2024 (Martin County Sheriff’s Office).

A defense attorney for the man who allegedly attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at his Palm Beach, Florida, golf course asked the judge overseeing the case for a lengthy extension of the pretrial calendar to deal with mountains of discovery.

During the Wednesday hearing, however, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon expressed a decided measure of skepticism at the request — but said she would defer ruling until late this week or early next week.

Earlier this week, Ryan W. Routh, 58, filed a motion asking the court to reset the beginning of trial in the high-profile case from February 2025 to December 2025, citing the potential for a constitutionally-deficient defense should proceedings continue at the current pace.

At the hearing in the provincial Fort Pierce courtroom, Assistant Federal Public Defender Kristy Militello reiterated the case staked out in the 18-page motion to continue trial and revise scheduling.

“We’re still really in the dark,” Militello told the judge, according to a courtroom report by The Palm Beach Post.

Militello and Assistant Federal Public Defender Renee Sihvola said there was an “extraordinary volume” of material, including files sourced from 17 of Routh’s cellular phones, one other phone, and numerous other digital files. That discovery came from federal prosecutors and even more is believed to be on the way.

More Law&Crime coverage: ‘Randomly assigned to me’ — ‘period’: Annoyed Mar-a-Lago judge defends herself, sees no reason to exit Trump assassination attempt suspect’s case

Then, after a basic review of those files, the documents and videos will be integrated into the defense’s case — which could take several months, according to Routh’s attorneys.

“I don’t have the resources of the FBI,” Militello said, making her case before the Trump-appointed judge, according to a courtroom report by Miami-based NBC affiliate WTVJ. “[It would] take a lawyer a year without sleep or vacation to review all the information in this case.”

Cannon, for her part, was reportedly not convinced.

“I’m not entirely sure the road blocks you’re describing exist to the extent you’re suggesting,” the judge told Routh’s lead attorney.

More Law&Crime coverage: Judge Aileen Cannon emerges as one of the 2024 election’s most influential players — and maybe one of the biggest winners as AG and SCOTUS rumors swirl

Still, the prospect of at least some delay could be in the offing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley said the government did not generally object to pushing the trial back a bit but chided the defense’s nearly yearlong request for a December 2025 trial date as “wrong on many fronts,” according to the Palm Beach Post.

Shipley said such an extension is “just not feasible,” according to a courtroom report by West Palm Beach-based NBC affiliate WPTV.

In the end, Cannon said she would issue a ruling on the defense motion to continue trial “in the not-too-distant future.”

More Law&Crime coverage: Jack Smith asks 11th Circuit to keep Mar-a-Lago case alive even without Trump — in the name of ‘common sense’

“Discovery delays and the extraordinary volume of discovery have made the current trial schedule incompatible with Mr. Routh’s due process rights,” the motion reads. “The pace and quantity of discovery production, and the need to process disclosed materials into a usable form, prevent counsel at this time from providing a definitive estimate of the number of hours required for review. What is clear, however, is that the diligent efforts of counsel will be insufficient to prepare a case of this magnitude for trial on February 10, 2025. Proceeding with the scheduled trial or anytime soon thereafter — on charges punishable by life imprisonment — would result in a miscarriage of justice.”

In September 2024, Routh, who hails from Hawaii, was arrested in Florida after a Secret Service agent allegedly spotted him with a rifle “in the exterior brush along the fence line near the 6th hole putting green” at the Trump International Golf Club as the former president golfed one hole behind. Authorities have said that the agent opened fire, leading Routh to flee the scene in a Nissan Xterra.

After Routh was caught, federal agents said they found a letter addressed to the “world” stating that “[t]his was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you.” Investigators also said that Routh had been camped out for some 12 hours, apparently waiting for Trump to begin playing golf.

Routh was indicted on charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Perhaps notably, Routh now literally and figuratively sat in the same defendant’s seat the president-elect once occupied when Cannon oversaw the since-dismissed Mar-a-Lago documents case.

Throughout the pendency of that beleaguered prosecution, Cannon was dogged by complaints that she allowed the codefendants and their allies wide latitude to delay, file frivolous legal documents that push untenable legal theories, push back deadlines, and otherwise engage in dilatory tactics — with an eye toward making sure no trial occurred before the 2024 presidential election.

Jerry Lambe and Matt Naham contributed to this report.

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Jan. 6 defendant wants trial delay for ‘charged’ election

homesafetytechpros — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 20:51:22 +0000

Background: Violent rioters supporting President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File). Inset: Jared Wise (Justice Dept. court filing).

A onetime FBI agent facing felony charges for allegedly storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 says his trial should be delayed because the upcoming presidential election has created too “charged” of an atmosphere for him to get a fair trial.

Jared Wise is facing felony civil disorder and assault charges, as well as a handful of disorderly conduct and trespassing misdemeanors for joining the mob of Donald Trump supporters that violently descended on the Capitol that day. As Law&Crime has previously reported, Wise, who worked for the FBI from 2004 to 2016 and served as a supervisory special agent, allegedly yelled “kill ’em” at Jan. 6 rioters clashing with police, who he called “the Gestapo.” He has complained that he is being targeted for his political beliefs.

Now, according to a recent court filing, Wise says his trial date of Nov. 1 should be postponed and that U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss should start the trial on the agreed-upon “back-up trial date” of Jan. 7.

“[R]esetting to January 7, 2025, would ensure the trial goes forward without a monumental election hanging in the balance,” Wise’s lawyer argued in the trial brief and motion to continue the trial date.

“Given the likelihood that we won’t know the results of the election the week of November 4, having trial in January is the prudent option, especially on January 7, when it will hopefully be clear that we won’t have a repeat of January 6, 2021,” the brief also says.

Wise’s brief says that the concerns expressed in an earlier motion to change venue — including the allegation that his jury pool would be very limited due to his connection to Washington, D.C., from having worked for the federal government for more than a decade — are “heightened during the current trial setting due to the politically charged environment, and the increased news and media focus on issues surrounding President Trump’s candidacy and possible reelection[.]”

Wise also complains about “how difficult some states are making it to efficiently count votes,” implying that he doesn’t trust that the votes in the upcoming election will be fairly and fully counted, an argument that echoes the many baseless statements Trump and his allies made alleging that the 2020 election was stolen from the former president.

The brief itself does not provide examples, but the mechanics of how the upcoming election will operate has been the subject of litigation and controversy in multiple states, including Georgia, New York and Nevada.

The criminal charges against Trump for his alleged actions relating to the Jan. 6 riot is yet another reason to delay the case, Wise argues.

“Notably, there has already been greater media coverage this week, as new evidence has been made public related to the prosecution of President Trump for the events of January 6, 2021, and the focus and coverage is likely to accelerate in coming weeks,” the brief says.

Trump has hinted that, if elected, he will pardon those convicted of committing crimes at the Capitol on Jan. 6, when lawmakers were forced to evacuate or shelter in place for hours after rioters breached the building as Congress had begun to certify Joe Biden’s electoral win.

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Trump asks appeals court for delay in Mar-a-Lago case

homesafetytechpros — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 03:52:09 +0000

Left: Special counsel Jack Smith turns from the podium after speaking about an indictment of former President Donald Trump, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, at a Department of Justice office in Washington (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin). Right: Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump stands on stage at the Libertarian National Convention at the Washington Hilton in Washington, Saturday, May 25, 2024 (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana).

Former President Donald Trump has asked a federal appeals court sitting in Atlanta for a bit of extra time to file a motion opposing the government’s efforts to reinstate the Mar-a-Lago indictment against him and two other erstwhile, would-be co-defendants.

A lower court dismissed special counsel Jack Smith’s classified documents charges against the 45th president in an early summer opinion that sent shock waves through political and legal landscapes. Also spared from the prosecution’s maw by that novel reading of the U.S. Constitution were Waltine “Walt” Nauta, Trump’s personal valet, and Carlos de Oliveira, Mar-a-Lago’s chief of maintenance.

On Aug. 26, as widely anticipated, Smith filed to overturn the pro-Trump decision issued by Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon. Under circuit rules, Trump has 30 days to respond — which sets the present deadline to respond to Smith on Sept. 25.

On Tuesday, in a 14-page unopposed motion for extension of time to file opening brief, Trump’s attorneys asked the appeals court for another 30 days to get their affairs in order in the Mar-a-Lago case. The motion cites the still-ongoing Smith-helmed prosecution in the District of Columbia as the foremost reason for the requested delay.

Under the terms of the request, Trump, Nauta, and de Oliveira would have until Oct. 25 to respond to the government’s hard-charging 81-page effort to revive the fledgling south Florida case.

The combined extension request argues there is “good cause” for the latest in a long line of delays in the Mar-a-Lago matter.

“President Trump and his counsel are presently engaged in motion practice in a separate case brought by the Special Counsel in the District of Columbia, United States v. Trump, which will require counsel to spend time in a sensitive compartmented information facility (“SCIF”) in Washington, D.C. in the coming weeks to meet that court’s briefing schedule,” the filing reads.

More Law&Crime coverage: Judge slams Mark Meadows for ‘artful alteration’ of Jack Smith’s words, rejects argument Arizona fake electors case is just about ‘receiving’ texts as Trump’s ‘gatekeeper’

The D.C. case was similarly long-delayed — in a nonsimilar fashion; by a long-and-winding, and largely successful, appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on presidential immunity issues. Proceedings in the D.C.-based matter recently began again in earnest.

In an early September order, prosecutors were given until Sept. 26, to file their first brief addressing the new concept of presidential immunity in criminal prosecutions. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, a Barack Obama appointee, gave Trump until Oct. 17, to respond. Then, Smith’s office has until Oct. 29, six days prior to the 2024 general election, to file his reply. A similar suite of deadlines was set by the court over the defense’s appointments clause-related arguments challenging the special counsel’s authority to oversee the case.

But it’s not the D.C. briefing schedule alone that Trump, Nauta and de Oliveira say necessitates a 30-day briefing pause.

More Law&Crime coverage: Georgia judge keeps Fani Willis’ RICO case in place even as he tosses 2 Trump charges, but a footnote shows there’s a much larger fight brewing

There’s also the issue of Trump’s conviction in New York over 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents.

“President Trump and his counsel are also litigating issues of first impression in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that require briefing in advance of a potential sentencing hearing presently set for November 26, 2024,” the filing goes on.

Trump recently tried, and failed, to have the federal court system obtain jurisdiction over the Empire State case. Meanwhile, the judge who oversaw the ex-president’s criminal trial rescheduled a planned Sept. 18, sentencing hearing in light of the upcoming election.

More Law&Crime coverage: ‘DENIED’: Trump strikes out as federal judges say hush-money case must stay in New York state court

The motion for an extension filed with the 11th Circuit also says Nauta recently hired a new lawyer who “must be familiarized with the facts giving rise to this appeal and has pressing work before this Court and others that makes the existing schedule challenging.”

Smith’s team, for their part, appear unruffled by the former president’s request to delay the Mar-a-Lago case further.

“In light of the procedure described in Eleventh Circuit Rule 31-2(a) and without expressing a view on whether appellees have established good cause, the government does not oppose appellees’ 30-day extension request,” the government wrote in a message provided to the defense and entered into the record by the extension motion.

Under 11th Circuit rules, a statement referencing opposing counsel’s position on an extension of time is mandatory.

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