According to a letter sent to the parties involved, the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s criminal so-called hush money case postponed sentencing to Sept. 18.
Merchan isn’t doing Trump any favors. He will sentence him immediately before the election on November 5th. It’s an early October surprise.
The move came after the Manhattan district attorney’s office said earlier Tuesday it would not oppose Trump’s request. The filing was based on Monday’s Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
“Although we believe defendant’s arguments to be without merit, we do not oppose his request for leave to file and his putative request to adjourn sentencing pending determination of his motion,” assistant district attorney Josh Steinglass wrote in a letter to Judge Juan Merchan.
DELAY GRANTED BUT ONLY UNTIL SEPTEMBER
On Monday, just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling that Trump has some presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken to overturn results of the 2020 election, Trump’s attorneys sent a letter to Judge Merchan asking to him to “set aside the jury’s verdict” in his hush money case.
Judge Merchan then responded to the Trump team’s request for a delay in the hush money trial sentencing. Manhattan prosecutors said they had no problem waiting until July 24. Merchan signaled to the parties that he would rule on Trump’s motion to set aside his conviction on Sept. 6.
ABC Go News reports he gave Trump until July 10 to submit papers. The DA’s office has until July 24 to respond.
Sentencing had originally been scheduled for July 11. That is just days before Trump will claim the Republican nomination. Merchan has now set sentencing for Sept. 18 at 10 a.m. ET.
Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records for putting the money he owed to his attorney at the time, Michael Cohen, under legal expenses. They claimed a thought crime – he was covering up his affair to win the election. Cohen had spent the money paying off Stormy. She claimed she had a one-nighter with him. Congenital liar Cohen and congenital liar and hooker Stormy Daniels testified against Mr. Trump.
THE CASE VIOLATED THE PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY PROVISION
In the defense’s letter to Judge Merchan, defense attorneys argued Trump’s conviction should be thrown out because prosecutors relied on evidence and testimony they believe should have been protected by presidential immunity, including several of Trump’s tweets, a government ethics form, and the testimony of former Trump aide Hope Hicks.
“The verdicts in this case violate the presidential immunity doctrine and create grave risks of ‘an Executive Branch that cannibalizes itself,'” defense attorney Todd Blanche wrote. “After further briefing on these issues beginning on July 10, 2024, it will be manifest that the trial result cannot stand.”
The defense is relying on a portion of the Supreme Court opinion that said, “Testimony or private records of the President or his advisers probing such conduct may not be admitted as evidence at trial.”
IMMUNITY WAS DENIED ONCE BEFORE
During Trump’s effort to remove the state case to federal court in 2023, Judge Alvin Hellerstein determined that Trump’s alleged conduct in the case was “purely a personal item” outside of Trump’s official duties.
“The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the matter was purely a personal item of the President — a cover-up of an embarrassing event,” Hellerstein wrote in a July 2023 decision denying Trump’s effort to remove the case to federal court. “Hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a President’s official acts. It does not reflect in any way the color of the President’s official duties.”
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