In victory for Trump, judge delays criminal sentencing until after U.S. election
Sentence postponed to avoid perception that case is affected by politics, judge says
A New York judge on Friday delayed former U.S. presidentDonaldTrump's sentencing in hishushmoneycriminal case until after theNov. 5 election, writing that he wants to avoid the unwarranted perception of a political motive.
Trump, the Republican nominee for president, had previously been scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 18. His lawyers in August asked JusticeJuan Merchanto push back his sentencing date until after the vote, citing "naked election-interference objectives."
Merchan said on Friday he now planned to sentenceTrumpon Nov. 26, unless the case is dismissed before then.
"The imposition of sentence will be adjourned to avoid any appearance however unwarranted that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching presidential election in which the defendant is a candidate,"the judge wrote. "The court is a fair, impartial and apolitical institution."
In a post on Friday, Trump said the case should be dismissed altogether.
"This case should be rightfully terminated, as we prepare for the most important election in the history of our country," he wrote on his social platform Truth Social.
Presidential immunity ruling also pushed back
Trump's lawyers in Augustarguedthere would not be enough time before the sentencing for the defence to potentially appeal Merchan's forthcoming ruling onTrump's request to overturn the conviction due to the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision on presidential immunity.
Merchan had been scheduled to rule on that motion on Sept. 16. He wrote on Friday he now plans to rule on that motion on Nov. 12.
The Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling, which related to a separate criminal caseTrumpfaces, found thatpresidents cannot be criminally prosecutedfor their official acts, and that evidence of presidents' official actions cannot be used to help prove criminal cases involving unofficial actions.
Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office argued their case involvedTrump's personal conduct, not official acts, so there wasno reason to overturnthe verdict.
But prosecutorstook no position onTrump's request to delay sentencing, saying in an Aug. 16 filing theydeferred to Merchanon the question. The prosecutors said an appellate court could delay the sentencing anyway to give itself time to considerTrump's arguments, a move they said would be "disruptive."
Bragg's team also saidTrump's court appearances required significant security and logistical planning, and said there was a risk preparations could be made for his sentencing only to be called off.Trump's six-week trial brought a heavy police presence to lower Manhattan.
In declining to advocate for a sentencing date before the election, Bragg may have been conscious ofTrump's oft-repeated claim that the Democratic prosecutor is seeking to interfere in his campaign, said George Grasso, a retired New York state judge who attendedTrump's trial.
"He's probably appropriately sensitive to opening himself up to charges fromTrumpandTrumpsupporters that he's being too political," Grasso said. "He threaded the needle."
In the first-ever criminal trial of a former or current U.S. president,Trumpwas convictedon May 30 of falsifying business records to cover up his then-lawyer's $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she says she had withTrumpa decade earlier.
Trumpdenies the encounter and hasvowed to appealthe verdict once he is sentenced.
Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years in prison, though punishments such as fines or probation are more common for others convicted of that crime in the past.
IfTrumpwins the White House, he could potentially order the Department of Justice to drop federal election interference charges against him. He would not have the authority to end the New York state case or an election interference case in Georgia.
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