Former U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing to delay his sentencing in the New York hush money case until after the November 5 election, arguing that maintaining the current schedule amounts to “election interference.”
Trump, who is running for president again, faces sentencing on September 18. This date is just two days after Judge Juan Merchan is expected to rule on Trump’s appeal to overturn the guilty verdict from a Manhattan jury on May 30. The appeal hinges on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling related to presidential immunity.
In a letter to Judge Merchan, Trump’s legal team requested a postponement, emphasizing that beyond alleged election interference, there is no justification for sticking to the existing sentencing schedule. They argue that the court should allow additional time for a potential appeal concerning presidential immunity.
Following the unprecedented criminal trial of a former president, Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment made by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. This payment was intended to prevent Daniels from speaking about an alleged affair she claimed to have had with Trump before the 2016 election—a claim Trump denies. Prosecutors contended that the payment was part of a broader effort to manipulate the election outcome.
Trump, aged 78, was initially set to be sentenced on July 11. However, Judge Merchan postponed this after the Supreme Court ruled in a separate case that sitting presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for official acts and that such evidence cannot be used in unrelated criminal cases. Trump’s legal team believes this ruling necessitates overturning the hush money conviction, while prosecutors maintain that the case involved personal rather than official conduct.
Falsifying business records carries a potential sentence of up to four years in prison, though many past defendants have received fines or probation instead.
