A New York judge has delayed until after the Nov. 5 presidential election the sentencing of Donald Trump in connection with the money he paid porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.
Trump’s sentencing was due to be announced on September 18, and his lawyers had asked for it to be delayed until after the election. Judge Juan Merchan announced today that he approved the request and rescheduled the announcement for November 26unless the case is dismissed in the meantime.
“This matter is unique in the history of the Nation. “Unfortunately, we are now in a time period full of complexities that make it difficult to organize a sentencing hearing, if there is a need to do so,” Mercan said.
Trump’s lawyers argued in August that there was insufficient time for the defense to appeal Merchan’s decision after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on presidential immunity.
That decision (by a vote of 6 to 3) held that presidents could not be prosecuted for actions taken in their official capacity and that evidence based on their official actions could not be used in criminal cases involving their private acts.
Manhattan prosecutors argue that the Stormy Daniels money laundering case involves a private act by Trump and there is no good reason to overturn his conviction.
‘Witch hunt to block my re-election’
Earlier today, the Republican mogul invited reporters to a press conference at Trump Tower, with no specific topic. He took no questions and spoke confusedly for 40 minutes about his criminal trials, which he again called a “witch hunt” aimed at preventing his re-election.
According to Agence France-Presse, Trump appeared particularly annoyed and argued with his lawyers, who surrounded him, saying he was disappointed with their work.
As for his opponent in the election, Kamala Harris, he assured that he is “leading by a margin” in the polls.
Trump will later depart for North Carolina, one of the ambivalent states of this election, where the mailing of the first mail-in ballots was delayed by a court order. Trump is scheduled to address a powerful police union.
Meanwhile, Harris’ campaign staff has released a letter of support for her candidacy, signed by several police officers.
“In November, Americans will have to choose between someone who spent her life enforcing the law and someone who was convicted of breaking it,” the op-ed reads, a reference to Harris’ career as a prosecutor and Trump’s conviction in the Stormy case Daniels.
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