Sentence sentencing postponed from the 11th to September 18th
NYT "Only criminal responsibility moment in Trump's trial delayed"
Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s sentencing date for the 'hush money scandal' charge, for which he was found guilty, originally scheduled for the 11th, has been postponed to September. The impact of the previous day’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which granted partial immunity to Trump, is spreading.
On the 2nd (local time), Judge Juan Merchan of the New York Manhattan Criminal Court accepted the request from Trump’s legal team to delay the sentencing date related to the guilty verdict on the hush money scandal charge. Accordingly, the court’s sentencing date was postponed from the originally scheduled 11th to September 18th.
The day before, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized partial immunity for actions Trump took while in office. Following this, Trump’s legal team immediately sent a letter to Judge Merchan requesting a delay in sentencing to review the Supreme Court’s ruling and assess its impact on the hush money case. Until now, Trump’s team argued that some evidence, including social media posts that formed the basis of the guilty verdict, were created during his presidency and should be excluded based on immunity.
On the same day, the New York Manhattan District Attorney’s Office stated that while there was "no practical benefit" to delaying the sentencing, it would "not oppose" the request from Trump’s side.
Some observers predict that the Supreme Court’s ruling will allow Trump to continue challenging the admissibility of evidence in his ongoing trials, potentially expanding the repercussions. For Trump, who has pursued a trial delay strategy, the Supreme Court’s ruling the previous day has created a favorable situation. Having decisively won the first presidential debate against President Joe Biden last week, Trump can now delay the sentencing for the guilty verdict as long as possible until before the second debate scheduled for September 10th.
The New York Times (NYT) commented, "As the election approaches, this sentencing related to the hush money scandal may be the only moment of criminal accountability while the former president’s other cases (trials) are delayed," and described the sentencing delay as "a remarkable development in a case that led to the first (felony) guilty verdict against a U.S. president."
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