Former President Donald Trump’s sentencing in the hush money case involving adult film star Stormy Daniels has been pushed back to late November, meaning his legal fate will remain undecided until after the presidential election, a New York judge ruled Friday.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan delayed Trump’s sentencing from the original date of September 18 to November 26. This move means voters will head to the polls on November 5 without knowing whether Trump, 78, will face potential jail time.
The case centers on a $130,000 payment made by Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, to keep Daniels quiet about an alleged affair with Trump in the lead-up to the 2016 election. Prosecutors argued that Trump orchestrated the payment to protect his presidential campaign and later reimbursed Cohen through a series of disguised business records, leading to his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents.
Despite the charges carrying a maximum sentence of four years, legal experts predict Trump will likely receive probation or community service, given his status as a first-time offender. Any sentence could also be delayed pending an appeal by Trump’s legal team.
The decision to delay sentencing comes after Trump’s attorneys argued that moving forward so close to the election would create an appearance of political interference. Merchan agreed, stating in a four-page order that the postponement was necessary to avoid any impression that the proceedings were influenced by the upcoming presidential vote.
“The public’s confidence in the integrity of our judicial system demands a sentencing hearing that is entirely focused on the jury’s verdict, free from the distractions of the political calendar,” Merchan wrote.
Trump, the GOP’s 2024 frontrunner, has repeatedly attacked the case as a “witch hunt” and accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of political bias. His legal team also cited a recent Supreme Court ruling expanding presidential immunity as grounds for dismissing the charges, a motion Merchan will address on November 12, weeks before the rescheduled sentencing.
As Trump continues his campaign trail, the delayed sentencing ensures that his legal battles remain a subplot to the 2024 election, with the ultimate verdict still looming over his political future.
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