Trump asks NY appeals court to throw out guilty verdicts in hush money case before upcoming sentencing

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

40% : "Any criminal sentence, or even the distraction of ongoing criminal proceedings -- including appeals necessary to vindicate the Presidential immunity doctrine and President Trump's individual constitutional rights -- threatens to disrupt the enormously burdensome task of undergoing a Presidential transition," they later wrote. Blanche and Bove, who Trump has tapped for two top roles at his Department of Justice, could not immediately be reached for comment.
40% : In December, the judge found that the Supreme Court ruling didn't shield Trump from criminal liability before he won the election.
29% : Lawyers for Donald Trump petitioned a New York appeals court on Tuesday to throw out the guilty verdicts against him before his sentencing later this week in a last-ditch attempt to close the book on his criminal hush money case before he takes office.
21% : In his Friday decision that announced the sentencing, Merchan said he did not plan to impose a jail term or any other form of punishment and that Trump could appear by video.
19% : The filing to the First Department, Appellate Division appeals court came a day after Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan denied a defense request to halt Trump's sentencing from going forward Friday as Trump appeals various decisions upholding the guilty verdicts against him.
19% : A jury of 12 Manhattan residents on May 30 found Trump, 78, guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records stemming from a scheme to hide embarrassing details about his past from the electorate in 2016.
18% : " "Justice Merchan is without authority under the law to proceed to sentencing while President Trump exercises his federal constitutional right to challenge these rulings," Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote, demanding the verdict be vacated and the charges dismissed.
13% : He decided Trump, as president-elect, was not shielded by the Supreme Court's July 1 ruling that granted the president sweeping protections from criminal actions and that the case shouldn't be tossed in light of Trump winning the presidential election.

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