Trump’s Hush-Money Sentencing Delayed Until After Election

Sentencing for Donald Trump’s conviction on falsification of business records related to a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels has been postponed until after the election.

In a Friday decision, Judge Juan Merchan ruled that “sentencing on this matter, if necessary, is adjourned to November 26, 2024, at 10 am.”

Merchan wrote that “the public’s confidence in the integrity of our judicial system demands a sentencing hearing that is entirely focused on the verdict of the jury and the weighing of aggravating and mitigating factors free from distraction or distortion.”

“The members of this jury served diligently on this case, and their verdict must be respected and addressed in a manner that is not diluted by the enormity of the upcoming presidential election,” he added.

In May, Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records stemming from a hush-money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep news of an affair under wraps ahead of the 2016 election.

In July, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office agreed to postpone sentencing following a Supreme Court decision ruling that presidents are entitled to immunity from prosecution for official acts committed while in office.

Trump’s attorneys argued that holding his sentencing before November’s election would result in “politically prejudicial” proceedings that would be used to attack his campaign to retake the White House.

“Adjourning decision on the motion and sentencing, if such is required, should dispel any suggestion that the Court will have issued any decision or imposed sentence either to give an advantage to, or to create a disadvantage for, any political party and or any candidate for any office,” Merchan wrote on Friday.

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling that presidents are immune from prosecution for “official” acts taken while in office, several of the criminal cases against Trump have been thrown into question. In July, Florida Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the federal classified documents case against Trump, a move which has been appealed by the Justice Department.

Earlier this month, Special Council Jack Smith leveled a superseding indictment against Trump relating to the DOJ’s other criminal case against him over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The indictment contains the same four charges as when the former president was first indicted in August of last year, but has been reworked to accommodate for the presumption of immunity over official acts.

Despite prosecutor’s commitment to seeing the cases against Trump through to their end, the former president may still skirt any consequences should he win the election. Questions remain regarding whether Trump could toss his New York conviction, but a return to the White House would grant the former president an expansive tool set to get himself off the hook.

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