A New York appeals court judge has denied president-elect Donald Trump's latest bid to delay this week's sentencing in his hush money case.
In a one-sentence ruling following an emergency hearing, Judge Ellen Gesmer denied Trump's request for an immediate order that would spare him from being sentenced while he appeals Judge Juan M Merchan.
It was the second time in two days that Trump was denied.
Trump went to the Appellate Division of the state's trial court a day after Merchan rebuffed his initial bid to indefinitely postpone sentencing.
Trump's sentencing remains on schedule for Friday, though he can still ask other courts to intervene.
At an emergency hearing, Trump's lawyer, Todd Blanche, argued that the president-elect could not be sentenced because he enjoyed the same immunity from criminal proceedings as a president.
Judge Merchan had rejected that idea in his ruling last week and Manhattan district attorney Steven Wu said it flew in the face of the long-held concept of one president at a time.
Trump did not attend the hearing.
Less than two weeks from inauguration
Trump was convicted last May on charges involving an alleged scheme to hide a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels in the last weeks of his 2016 campaign.
The case centred on how Trump accounted for reimbursing his then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who had made the payment to Daniels.
He is less than two weeks from his inauguration and is poised to be the first president to take office convicted of crimes.
If his sentencing does not happen before his second term starts on January 20, presidential immunity could put it on hold until he leaves office.
Judge Merchan signalled that he was not likely to punish Trump for his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and would accommodate the transition by allowing him to appear at sentencing by video.
But, the Republican and his lawyers contend that his sentencing should not go forward because the conviction and indictment should be dismissed.
They have previously suggested taking the case all the way to the US Supreme Court.
