President-elect Donald Trump remains on track to be sentenced this week in his hush money case after a judge on Monday denied his request to halt proceedings while he appeals a ruling that upheld the historic verdict. Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan ordered sentencing to proceed as scheduled on Friday, a little more than a week before Trump’s inauguration. The judge rejected a push by Trump's lawyers to postpone it indefinitely while they ask a state appeals court to reverse his decision that let the conviction stand. Trump, on course to be the first president to take office convicted of crimes, can still ask the appeals court to delay sentencing. Trump's lawyers have told Merchan that if his sentencing happens, he will appear by video rather than in person. The judge had given him the option, acceding to the demands of the presidential transition process. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/nation-world/trump-hush-money-case-sentencing/507-e983fcc8-26dc-4b49-8074-7fbb7b245d95