A New York judge suspended the former president Donald TrumpHe will be punished by the charge of serious crime until November 26.
“This is not a decision that this Court takes lightly, but it is one that, in this Court’s opinion, best serves the interests of justice,” Judge Juan Merchan wrote in his ruling Friday.
Merchan’s decision allowed Trump’s lawyers to appeal the court’s decision after they asked him to delay the Sept. 18 ruling until after the election. presidential immunity.
The decision was expected on September 16 – just two days before the former president’s first sentencing on criminal charges. Trump was convicted in May 34 facts about falsifying business records Near the end of the 2016 presidential campaign, adult movie star Stormi Daniels was accused of hush money.
“One business day is an unreasonably short amount of time,” Trump’s attorneys Todd Blanche and Emile Bove said in an Aug. 14 filing. “There is no reason to continue to rush”
Prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said they would “defer to the Court whether a stay warrants an orderly appeal” on any appeal by Trump, but “will be prepared for sentencing at a future date set by the Court.” . .”
Merchan said in his order Friday that he accepted that as the DA agreed to based on the request. He also acknowledged that the case “stands alone in a unique place in the history of this nation.”
“The public’s confidence in the integrity of our judicial system requires a sentencing that focuses entirely on the jury’s verdict and the weighing of aggravating and mitigating factors without distraction or distortion. The members of this jury have served diligently in this case, and their judgment should be respected and given the magnitude of the upcoming presidential election.” should be viewed in an undiluted manner, the judge wrote.
The order also postponed his immunity hearing date to November 12 – exactly two weeks before a possible sentencing date and after the election.
He said the delay should “help avoid any appearance that the defendant influenced or attempted to influence the process of the upcoming presidential election in which he is a candidate.”
The decision was released about an hour after Trump criticized Mercha as a “very hostile” judge appeal to journalists Of the various legal cases he’s facing in Manhattan, he says they’re all “shams.”
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, said in a statement that Mercha’s sentence did not go far enough.
“There Should Be No Verdict in Manhattan DA’s Election Interference Witch Hunt. As directed by the United States Supreme Court, this case must be dismissed along with all other Harris-Biden Hoaxes,” Cheung said.
The delay is Trump’s second the sentence has been postponed Following the US Supreme Court’s decision to extend presidential immunity in an unrelated federal criminal case against Trump in Washington. Sentencing was originally set for July 11, but Merchan granted Trump’s attorneys’ request for more time to convince him it was the high court’s ruling. July 1 immunity decision should result in reversal of the sentence and dismissal of the indictment.
They argue that the drastic action is necessary because the Supreme Court ruling shows that Manhattan prosecutors should not have been allowed to present evidence of his “official acts,” including a deposition from former White House aide Hope Hicks describing a conversation with him. The use of various public statements made by Trump during his presidency and as an exhibit. Prosecutors argue that the Supreme Court ruling did not affect the evidence they presented in the trial based on Trump’s personal conduct and that the judge should have upheld the jury’s historic verdict.
Trump’s lawyers also launched a second attempt last month take the state case to federal courtReferring to the Supreme Court order, another move that could delay the verdict. US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected this request earlier this week.
Hellerstein He defeated Trump’s attempt moving the case to federal court last year suggests the evidence in the case is “purely personal” for Trump – “a cover-up of an embarrassing incident. Hush the money paid for an adult film. The star is not related to the president’s official business.”
He said that the decision of the Supreme Court did not change his opinion. “Nothing in the Supreme Court’s opinion affects my previous conclusion that the hush money payments were private, unofficial acts outside the bounds of the executive branch,” Hellerstein wrote.
In a decision Friday shortly before Mercha’s sentencing, so did Hellerstein He rejected Trump’s offer stay in the job while appealing the decision.
Trump was suddenly faced with the prospect four criminal cases this year. The New York case is the only one to go to trial.