A New York judge on Friday delayed former US president Donald Trump’s sentencing on charges stemming from hush money paid to adult film actor Stormy Daniels until November 26th, after the election.
Mr Trump, the Republican nominee for president, had asked Justice Juan Merchan to push back his sentencing date until after the November 5th election.
Mr Trump had previously been scheduled to be sentenced on September 18th, less than two months before the poll.
Mr Trump’s lawyers in August argued there would not be enough time before the sentencing for the defence to potentially appeal Judge Merchan’s forthcoming ruling on their request to overturn the conviction due to the US supreme court’s landmark decision on presidential immunity. Judge Merchan had been scheduled to rule on that motion on September 16th.
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The supreme court’s ruling, which related to a separate criminal case Mr Trump faces, found that presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for their official acts, and that evidence of presidents’ official actions cannot be used to help prove criminal cases involving unofficial actions.
[ Judge faces impossible dilemma as he decides when to sentence TrumpOpens in new window ]
Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office argued their case involved Mr Trump’s personal conduct, not official acts, so there was no reason to overturn the verdict. But they took no position on Mr Trump’s request to delay sentencing, saying in an August 16th filing they deferred to Judge Merchan on the question.
The prosecutors said an appellate court could delay the sentencing anyway to give itself time to consider Trump’s arguments, a move they said would be “disruptive”.
Mr Bragg’s team also said Mr Trump’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. His six-week trial brought a heavy police presence to lower Manhattan.
In declining to advocate for a sentencing date before the election, Mr Bragg may have been conscious of Mr Trump’s claim that the Democratic prosecutor is seeking to interfere in his campaign, said George Grasso, a retired New York state judge who attended the trial.
“He’s probably appropriately sensitive to opening himself up to charges from Trump and Trump supporters that he’s being too political,” Mr Grasso said. “He threaded the needle.”
In the first-ever criminal trial of a former or current US president, Mr Trump was convicted on May 30th of falsifying business records to cover up his then-lawyer’s $130,000 payment to Ms Daniels for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump a decade earlier. Trump denies the encounter and has vowed to appeal the 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.
If Mr Trump wins the White House race, 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.
– Reuters