The judge presiding over the court Donald TrumpA silent money judge in New York on Friday postponed a sentencing scheduled for next week to allow more time for arguments over whether to dismiss the case.
State judge Juan Merchan The decision comes after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office filed a lawsuit earlier this week. whedon’toppose an action Trump’s lawyers delay his sentencing 34 felonies falsifying business records.
In brief, Merchan set new deadlines in early December for Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors to present their arguments on whether to dismiss the case in light of his election. The defense has until December 2 to file a statement, and the prosecution has until December 9 to respond.
Merchan also delayed another pending question on whether to overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity. He originally had until November 19 to rule on those motions.
He did not set a new date for sentencing. Trump is scheduled to be sworn in as president on January 20.
Trump was scheduled to be sentenced on November 26, but his lawyers argued that the sentencing and the entire case should be “he was immediately fired“As a result of his ‘overwhelming victory’ on Election Day, the president they claim already has immunity protection.
“Just as a sitting president is completely immune from any criminal prosecution, so is President Trump as president-elect,” Trump’s attorneys Todd Blanche and Emile Bove said in a filing Wednesday.
They also argued that he cannot be punished after his term expires because the wait is too long.
Trump said this last week Blanche and Bove plan to run for senior positions in the Justice Department in his new administration.
Manhattan prosecutors said they would challenge Trump’s efforts to dismiss the hush money case, but acknowledged that his conviction could come after he leaves office.
“The people deeply respect the Office of the President, take into account the demands and responsibilities of the presidency and recognize that the inauguration of the defendant will raise unprecedented legal questions.” their filing he said.
“Given the need to balance competing constitutional interests, it is necessary to consider various options to avoid dismissal that would address any concerns about delaying post-trial criminal proceedings during the presidency, such as postponing all remaining criminal cases. The end of the upcoming presidential term of the defendant,” the prosecutors added.
Trump was convicted After a weeklong trial in May in which his then-lawyer Michael Cohen was accused of falsifying business records to cover up hush money he paid the adult film star Stormy Daniels In the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign.
Daniels claimed she had sex with Trump in 2006, an allegation he denied.
Trump was originally scheduled to be sentenced in July, but the trial was postponed after a US Supreme Court ruling that month. expanded protection of presidential immunity In the federal case against Trump. After that ruling, his lawyers argued that the New York conviction and his main indictment should be thrown out, saying the Supreme Court’s decision meant prosecutors were not allowed to use some of the trial evidence against him.
Manhattan recorded the jury’s verdict for the first time A former president of the United States has ever been convicted of a crime. The case was the only one of four criminal cases filed against Trump since he left office in 2021.
There are two federal cases winding down As a result of his Election Day victory and Trump and some of his allies, a state case in Georgia was moving slowly. there is a prosecutor dis qualified. Their appeal was due to be heard in December, but the appeals court abruptly canceled that hearing this week.