NEW YORK: Donald Trump's sentencing for his conviction on criminal charges stemming from paying hush money to a porn star was delayed on Tuesday until September 18, less than seven weeks before the US election.
Judge Juan Merchán pushed back the sentencing date so he could assess the former U.S. president's argument that he should have been immune from prosecution under Monday's landmark Supreme Court ruling that presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for official acts.
The new timeline means Merchan could decide the Republican presidential candidate's punishment, including whether to send him to prison, in the middle of the campaign season ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Sentencing had previously been set for July 11, just days before the start of the Republican National Convention on July 15 in Milwaukee.
Trump faces an uphill battle to get his hush money conviction overturned, as much of the conduct at issue in the case predated his presidency.
Trump's lawyers on Monday asked Merchán to allow them to argue that his conviction should be overturned because of the justices' 6-3 ruling on July 1, which also held that evidence related to official actions by presidents cannot be used to help prove criminal cases involving unofficial actions.
Prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said Tuesday that Trump's argument was “without merit” but agreed to delay sentencing to give Trump a chance to present his case.
On May 30, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment his former lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter until after the 2016 election, which Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Prosecutors said the payment was part of an illicit scheme to influence the election.
Trump denies having had sexual relations with Daniels and has vowed to appeal the conviction after his sentencing.
'A purely personal object'
In their letter to Merchán, defense attorneys argued that prosecutors had presented evidence implicating Trump’s official acts as president, including social media posts he made and conversations he had while in the White House.
“This official evidence should never have been presented to the jury,” attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote.
Last year, Trump made a similar argument as part of an unsuccessful attempt to move the hush money case to federal court. In denying Trump's request in July 2023, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein wrote that the payment to Daniels “was a purely personal element.”
“Money paid to an adult film star to keep quiet has no bearing on the official acts of a president,” Hellerstein wrote.
Trump's lawyers appealed Hellerstein's decision but later dropped the effort.
In his written ruling, Merchan said he would rule on Trump’s request to vacate the jury’s verdict by Sept. 6, with sentencing less than two weeks later if the judge decides to uphold the conviction. Trump’s lawyers must file their arguments by July 10, and prosecutors face a July 24 deadline to respond.
