The sentencing for former President Donald Trump in his hush money case has been delayed until September or later as the judge has decided to consider the impact of a recent Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
Trump was initially set to be sentenced on July 11 for his conviction on felony charges of falsifying business records in New York. The sentencing has been rescheduled for at least September 18, which is after the Republican National Convention, where Trump is expected to officially accept the party’s nomination for the upcoming presidential election.
As we previously reported, on Monday, a Supreme Court ruling provided extensive immunity protections to presidents. The ruling also limited prosecutors from using official acts as evidence to demonstrate that a president’s unofficial actions broke the law.
Shortly after the ruling was announced, Trump’s lawyer asked New York Judge Juan M. Merchan to overturn the jury’s guilty verdict and postpone the sentencing in order to assess the potential impact of the Supreme Court’s decision on the hush money case.
He wrote that he’ll rule Sept. 6, and the next date in the case would be Sept. 18, “if such is still necessary.”
In their submission on Monday, defense lawyers contended that Manhattan prosecutors had unfairly focused on evidence related to official acts, such as Trump’s social media posts and testimony about Oval Office meetings, which they argued was biased. Prosecutors stated prior to the judge’s decision on Tuesday that they believed these arguments were unfounded, but they were willing to agree to postpone the sentencing for two weeks while the judge reviews the situation.
Trump was found guilty on May 30 on 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with an alleged attempt to conceal a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election.