DONALD Trump won’t face sentencing in his historic hush money trial until after Election Day.
Judge Juan Merchan delayed the sentencing, previously scheduled for September 18, to allow Trump’s team to have the chance to challenge his conviction with a pending presidential immunity ruling.
Donald Trump, who was found guilty of falsifying business records in MayAP:Associated Press
Trump smiled in criminal court the day before he was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business recordsAFP
Stormy Daniels leaves the United States District Court Southern District of New York in April 2018 after testing against Trump’s former lawyer, Michael CohenGetty
Writer E Jean Carroll leaves the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after Trump sought to overturn the verdict which found him liable for sexually assaulting herReuters
Trump, who was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, will now be sentenced on November 26.
“This is not a decision this Court makes lightly but it is the decision which in this Court’s view, best advances the interests of justice,” Merchan wrote in the decision on Friday.
In August, Merchan pushed the original sentencing date back after the Supreme Court ruled that former presidents are immune from prosecution for “some official acts” but no immunity for unofficial acts.
The pending ruling on the former president’s immunity was expected by September 18.
However, Merchan’s new order also pushes back the date of his immunity issue ruling to November 12.
Trump’s lawyers had asked the judge for a delay in sentencing because the pending ruling only gave them about a day to prepare to use the new decision on presidential immunity in court.
“A single business day is an unreasonably short period of time,” the August 14 filing by Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove said.
“There is no basis for continuing to rush.”
Now, Trump’s team will have about two weeks to use the new ruling in their appeal.
The delay means that voters in the upcoming presidential election won’t know if the Republican nominee is set to face time behind bars.
The election also weighed into Trump’s request for the sentencing delay as his lawyers referenced “naked election-interference objectives” in their filing.
On Tuesday, a federal judge rejected Trump’s request to have the case seized from Merchan’s state court.
Trump’s lawyers said they aim to have the verdict overturned and the case dismissed on grounds of immunity as Trump appeals the federal court ruling.
TRUMP’S LEGAL WOES
Trump, 78, was found guilty on May 30 of the crimes he committed in an attempt to cover up hush money payments he made to porn star Stormy Daniels in the days leading up to the 2016 presidential election.
Why was Donald Trump’s sentencing delayed – and what does it mean for voters?
Justice Juan Merchan moved former President Donald Trump’s sentencing date to November 26.
He explained that he did so to avoid any public perception that Trump’s case or sentencing are intended to influence the election.
The decision also gives Trump’s attorneys more time to appeal the case based on the Supreme Court’s recent decision granting presidential immunity for certain actions taken while in office.
“This is not a decision this court makes lightly but it is the decision which in this court’s view, best advances the interests of justice,” Merchan wrote in his decision.
But this means that when voters head to the polls on November 5, many will not know whether their candidate will be forced to do time in jail.
During the six-week trial, jurors heard testimony from 20 witnesses, including Daniels herself and Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer from 2006 to 2018.
Trump faces up to four years in prison, although legal experts don’t expect him to receive any jail time.
High-profile defense attorney Arthur Aidala told Business Insider that Trump can go to jail, but it doesn’t mean that he will.
“I can’t say for absolute 100 percent certainty there can’t be jail because on the books, he can go to jail,” Aidala told the outlet.
“I do not see a scenario where Donald Trump spends one minute in jail,” he added.
Can Donald Trump still be president if he is convicted before the election?
The U.S. Sun spoke to a legal expert on the question of whether Donald Trump can still serve as president if he is in prison.
“If Donald Trump is found guilty, even if he’s sentenced to prison, which is unlikely in the New York case, he can still be president,” former prosecutor Neama Rahmani told The U.S. Sun.
“There’s nothing prohibiting a convicted felon from being president of the United States.
“Theoretically, Trump could be in prison and still be president of the United States, earning the Constitution.
“The only requirements are that he be 35 and be born in the United States and not have engaged in an insurrection.”
LASHING OUT
Hours before Judge Merchan’s ruling on Friday, Trump spoke out about another legal battle he’s facing.
His lawyers are attempting to dismiss the verdict that found Trump liable for sexually assaulting writer E Jean Carroll in 1996 and defaming her.
Trump insists he has never met his accuser, despite a picture of the two together from an event 40 years ago.
He spoke from the Trump Tower after attending the opening arguments of the case.
“I have no idea who this woman is,” Trump told reporters on Friday.
He slammed the case as “disgraceful” and an attempt to “rig the campaign.”
Former President Donald Trump sitting at the defense table at one of four criminal trials this yearAP
Prior to the ruling, Trump spoke out about his case against E Jean CarrollAFP
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