Former US President Donald Trump secured a delay of his sentence in the New York hush money case until after the November 5 election.
Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan made the ruling, citing worries about potential election interference as the cause for the delay.
Trump’s sentence was initially scheduled for September 18, just seven weeks before Election Day. However, Trump and his legal team claimed that the timing of the punishment could have an undue impact on his campaign, referring to it as “election interference.”
Judge Merchan responded by moving the sentencing date to November 26, well after the presidential election’s final votes were counted.
Judge Merchan stated that his decision was made “to avoid any appearance — however unwarranted — that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching presidential election in which the Defendant is a candidate.” He emphasized the court’s role as “a fair, impartial, and apolitical institution.”
Trump’s lawyers have been actively seeking a delay on several fronts, including petitioning a federal court to intervene. They claimed that any sentencing set during Trump’s quest to return to the White House could be interpreted as an attempt to sway the election results.
Furthermore, they contended that a postponement would give Trump time to consider his next steps, depending on how the court rules on their motion to reverse his conviction and dismiss the case based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding presidential immunity.
Judge Merchan has set a ruling on the motion for reconsideration of the verdict for November 12, two weeks before the new sentence date. Trump’s legal team is currently appealing a recent federal court judgment that denied their plea to transfer the case from Merchan’s state court to the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. If the federal court agreed, Trump’s lawyers planned to seek a dismissal of the verdict on immunity grounds.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which led the prosecution of Trump, did not object to the defense’s request for a delay. Instead, they elected to defer to Judge Merchan’s decision, remaining neutral on the issue.
