The judge overseeing United States President-elect Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial has adjourned his sentencing, which was set for next week.
Trump’s sentencing originally set for 26 November, has now been adjourned following a ruling by Judge Merchan on Friday.
The judge also approved Trump’s request to file a motion to dismiss the charges.
Merchan stated, “The sentencing date is adjourned,” confirming that Trump’s attorneys have until 2 December to submit their motion, while Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has until 9 December to respond.
Trump’s team wanted to have until December 20 to file their paperwork.
Trump’s legal and political fates have seen an abrupt turnaround a year after he was facing four separate indictments.
In light of his election victory earlier this month, Trump’s two federal cases are winding down, while the Georgia state case has long been dormant and the New York case is poised to end indefinitely without a sentence.
In a letter to Merchan earlier this month, the district attorney’s office also acknowledged that Trump is not likely to be sentenced “until after the end of Defendant’s upcoming presidential term.”
Although District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, has said Trump’s felony conviction should stand, a source close to the district attorney’s office said it is open to a four-year pause of the case.
Trump’s lawyers have argued his conviction should be tossed both because of the presidential immunity decision and his return to the White House.
In a letter on Wednesday, Trump’s defence attorney Todd Blanche, now the nominee for Deputy Attorney General, argued, “On November 5, 2024, the Nation’s People issued a mandate that supersedes the political motivations of DANY’s ‘People.’ This case must be immediately dismissed.”
Blanche further contended that “immediate dismissal of this case is mandated by the federal Constitution, the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, and the interests of justice, in order to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power following President Trump’s overwhelming victory in the 2024 Presidential Election.”
Earlier in the week, Bragg had requested a stay on the case until 2029, citing the need for more time.
However, Blanche criticised the move, stating, “Bragg appears to not yet be ready to dismiss this politically-motivated and fatally flawed case, which is what is mandated by the law and will happen as justice takes its course.”
Blanche also noted that continuing the case would be “uniquely destabilising” and could “hamstring the operation of the whole governmental apparatus, both in foreign and domestic affairs.”
Trump’s team referred to the recent U.S. Supreme Court 6-3 decision on presidential immunity, which they argued prohibits the case under “the presidential immunity doctrine and the Supremacy Clause.”
The charges stem from a yearslong investigation into alleged hush money payments.
Trump, who pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records, was found guilty on all counts by a jury after a six-week trial.
Trump’s legal team has also sought to overturn the guilty verdict, asserting that former presidents have “substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office.”
With Trump’s inauguration as the 47th President of the United States approaching, his attorneys have vowed to pursue appellate review if the court denies any relief.
