Trump’s lawyer has requested the judge to postpone the sentencing in the “Hush Money Case” until after the November U.S. presidential election.
The presiding judge of the “Hush Money Case,” Juan Merchan, had previously decided to delay the sentencing hearing until September 18 to assess the potential impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity and whether he needs to overturn Trump’s guilty verdict.
In July this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that official acts during Trump’s presidency have some degree of immunity, at least in terms of “core constitutional powers,” and other official acts are presumed to be immune unless it can be proven that they exceed official duties. Only unofficial acts do not have immunity.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Trump requested to overturn his conviction. Merchan is set to rule on the conviction reversal request on September 16. Trump’s lawyers argued that based on the standards set by the Supreme Court, some of the prosecution’s evidence, including certain documents and testimonies, could be considered official acts protected by immunity.
On Wednesday, August 14, Trump’s lawyers wrote a letter to Merchan, expressing concerns about the unfair position Trump’s legal team would be in due to the short timeframe between the ruling on the conviction reversal request and the sentencing, hindering their ability to appeal again or seek other legal avenues.
Trump’s lawyers, Blanche and Bove, stated in the letter that requesting a recess was necessary to allow President Trump enough time to evaluate and seek state and federal appeal options to address any unfavorable rulings.
They also mentioned that the sentencing process could improperly influence public opinion about Trump and that Merchan’s daughter’s relationship with a Democratic candidate could undermine public confidence in the court.
“Setting aside the blatant election interference motive, the court has no valid reason to keep the current sentencing date on the schedule,” the lawyers wrote. “There’s no reason to rush, so if a sentence is necessary, we earnestly request that the sentencing be postponed until after the presidential election.”
In May, a Manhattan jury ruled that all 34 charges of falsifying business records against Trump were valid, making him the first former U.S. president to be convicted of serious crimes.
After Trump’s conviction, his campaign team announced that they had raised $52.8 million within one day. This figure is more than half of the funds raised by Trump’s team in 2023.