Judge Juan Marchan has decided to postpone former President Trump's sentencing in the case of New York State v. Trump until after the November presidential election.
Trump's sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 26. The original trial date was September 18.
“Public confidence in the integrity of our justice system demands a jury verdict that is free from confusion or distortion and a sentencing hearing that is focused entirely on consideration of aggravating and mitigating factors,” Judge Marchan wrote in Friday's letter.
“Unfortunately, we now find ourselves in a complicated situation that makes it difficult to meet the requirements for a sentencing hearing, if one were to be necessary. Therefore, having regard to some of the grounds advanced by the defendant and the reasons for the adjournment advanced by the prosecution, as well as the unusual time frame in which this case currently finds itself, [motion] “The execution of the judgment will be stayed in order to avoid any impression, however unwarranted, that it has influenced or attempted to influence the litigation due to the upcoming presidential elections in which the defendants are candidates,” Marchan said.
Judge Juan Marchan gives instructions to the jury before the verdict in the criminal trial of Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump, at state court in Manhattan, New York City, May 29, 2024. In this courtroom sketch, Trump is accused of falsifying business records to hide money paid to silence porn actress Stormy Daniels in 2016. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
Trump was convicted of 34 counts of first-degree falsifying business records in an unprecedented criminal trial after a six-week trial before Manhattan District Attorney Alvin. Bragg's investigation.
“There should be no sentencing in the Manhattan District Attorney's election interference witch hunt. Following the orders of the U.S. Supreme Court, this case should be dismissed along with the other Harris-Biden frame-up cases,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Chang told Fox News Digital.
Trump's initial sentencing was scheduled for July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention, where Trump was set to be formally nominated as the Republican Party's 2024 presidential candidate, but Judge Juan Marchan agreed to postpone the sentencing until September 18.
A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said, “A New York jury swiftly and unanimously found Donald Trump guilty of 34 felony counts, and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office stands ready to deliver a sentence at the new date set by the Court.”
'Election interference': Trump lawyer seeks delay in Blagg case
Trump's lawyers later asked that the trial be postponed until after the November presidential election, citing a “blatant attempt to interfere in the election.”
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and appealed the verdict. His lawyer, Todd Blanche, said the verdict should be overturned under Supreme Court rulings on presidential immunity, which give the president limited immunity for acts performed in official capacity.
Judge Marchan is scheduled to rule on President Trump's motion to annul on November 12.
Former US President Donald Trump appeared in hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on May 30, 2024. (Stephen Hirsch Pool/Getty Images)
Blanche also noted that Marchand's daughter works for Authentic Campaigns, which represents top Democratic candidates.
Trump asks federal court to hear Bragg case weeks before verdict
In arguing for not prosecuting the charges, Ms. Blanche argued that Mr. Bragg had presented evidence of his official conduct during the unprecedented six-week criminal trial, which she said included official communications with White House staffers Hope Hicks, Madeleine Westerhout and others.
of The Supreme Court has ruled in the case of Trump v. United States. The Supreme Court ruled that former presidents are effectively immune from prosecution for official acts performed while in office, but not for unofficial acts. The Supreme Court found that Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts,” but left it to lower courts to decide where the line is between official and unofficial acts.
Former President Trump and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. (Emily Elconin/Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, President Trump last week asked a federal court to block his New York criminal trial from the state, arguing he was the victim of a “constitutional violation” in proceedings that conflict with the Supreme Court's recent ruling on presidential immunity.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected the request, saying nothing in the Supreme Court's presidential immunity decisions changed his view that private payments to adult film stars are unrelated to the president's official duties.
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He previously said that Trump's payment to Michael Cohen, the former lawyer who brokered the hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, was not an official act of his presidency.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks to media after a jury found former President Donald Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York. (AP/Seth Wenig)
“My judgment regarding the restitution of hush money stands true regardless of who bears the burden — the public or Mr. Trump,” Judge Hellerstein wrote in his decision. “The Supreme Court's decision does not affect my prior conclusion that hush money payments are private, informal acts outside the scope of executive power.”
