September 06, (THEWILL) – The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s New York criminal case, in which the former US President was convicted earlier this year for election-related fraud tied to hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, Justice Juan Merchan has postponed his sentencing until after the upcoming election in November.
Initially scheduled for September 18, the sentencing was delayed following a request by Trump’s attorneys on August 14. They argued for a postponement to resolve ongoing legal challenges to his conviction.
The Manhattan Supreme Court judge granted the request, issuing an order on Friday, to push the sentencing date to November 26.
On Friday, Justice Merchan said he would rule on Trump’s outstanding motion to toss his conviction on Nov. 12, adding that Trump would be sentenced on Nov. 26 “if necessary.”
“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”, Justice Merchan wrote.
In May, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of orchestrating a hush-money scheme to influence the 2016 election, convicting him on 34 counts.
THEWILL recalls that the Supreme Court had in a 6-3 ruling on a separate criminal case 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.
