Trump hush-money judge delays ruling on whether to throw out conviction

The judge in Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal hush-money case has postponed deciding on whether to throw out the president-elect’s conviction on presidential immunity grounds.

Judge Juan Merchan told Trump’s lawyers on Tuesday that he’d delay the ruling until 19 November after defense and prosecutors submitted a joint letter asking for a postponement.

The postponement followed numerous successful attempts to delay Trump’s case. Earlier this year, he was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a scheme to influence the 2016 election.

The verdict came on 31 May – following fewer than 12 hours of jury deliberations in the unprecedented first criminal trial of a US president, former or sitting. The outcome marked a potentially stunning blow to Trump, then the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

The campaign for Joe Biden, who ultimately withdrew his re-election bid, said “no one is above the law” in an email blast shortly after the verdict.

“In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law. Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain,” Michael Tyler, Biden’s communications director, said.

Trump’s criminal case portrayed a man who did not seem befitting of the presidency. Prosecutors said that Trump falsely recorded reimbursements he made to then lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payoff to adult film star Stormy Daniels, to silence her about an alleged affair with Trump, as “legal expenses”.

Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said that these falsifications were made to hide Trump’s violation of New York state election law, which criminalizes promoting the election of any person to office through illegal means.

Prosecutors said those unlawful means were the $130,000 payout to Daniels. The payout was, in essence, an illicit campaign contribution, as it was carried out for the benefit of Trump’s 2016 bid – exceeding the $2,700 individual contribution cap.

But Trump, whose poll numbers remained steady throughout the trial, did not lose support. He ultimately became the Republican nominee and, on 5 November, bested Kamala Harris.

Trump was originally scheduled to be sentenced on 10 July. Then came the 1 July US supreme court ruling that granted sitting presidents broad immunity for official acts taken during their time in office.

Trump urged Merchan to delay his sentencing in light of this ruling. His legal team pushed to challenge Trump’s conviction, citing the supreme court decision.

Merchan agreed to mull over the legalities and pushed back the proceeding until 18 September “if such is still necessary” given the supreme court decision. Trump’s attorneys in August asked for still more time, saying that they would need it to possibly appeal Merchan’s decision.

Merchan on 6 September delayed Trump’s sentencing yet again until 26 November – after the election – saying the situation was “fraught with complexities”. He said this decision was meant “to avoid any appearance – however unwarranted – that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching presidential election in which the defendant is a candidate”.

Trump’s lawyers argued over the weekend that there are “strong reasons for the requested stay, and eventually dismissal of the case in the interests of justice”, according to the aforementioned letter.

Trump’s election victory has derailed his other criminal cases. Special prosecutor Jack Smith is winding down the federal election interference and classified documents cases against Trump.

The state-level election case in Fulton county, Georgia, is on hold pending appeal, following revelations that district attorney Fani Willis had hired as a prosecutor a man with whom she had an affair. Even if the proceeding survived appeal, proceedings are all but guaranteed to languish until 2029.

More details soon …