US Court Delays Ruling on Trump 'Hush Money' Case Guilty Verdict

Yonhap News

The court handling the case of Donald Trump, the President-elect of the United States, regarding the 'payment to silence a sexual misconduct scandal' has decided to postpone its decision by one week on whether to overturn the previous guilty verdict or uphold the guilty verdict and impose a sentence. Some speculate that the guilty verdict may be overturned due to Trump’s election victory.

According to foreign media including the Associated Press, Judge Juan Merchan of the New York Manhattan Criminal Court announced that he would defer his decision until the 19th on the request from Trump’s defense team to nullify the guilty verdict in the payment-to-silence case. Trump’s lawyers had requested the overturning of the guilty verdict after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in July that "official acts performed by a president while in office are immune from criminal prosecution even after leaving office." Additionally, in a letter sent to the court after the election, Trump’s legal team requested the termination of the payment-to-silence case trial, arguing that "this is necessary to avoid unconstitutional interference with President-elect Trump’s administration."

Regarding the allegation that Trump gave $130,000 to former adult film actress Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election to prevent her from revealing a past sexual encounter, he was found guilty on all 34 criminal charges by a Manhattan Criminal Court jury in May.

Judge Merchan had originally planned to rule on Trump’s request to overturn the guilty verdict by this day. However, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted Trump, requested a delay until the 19th to conduct a legal review of the situation following the election, and Judge Merchan accepted this, halting the trial proceedings. Merchan was scheduled to sentence Trump on the 26th, but the schedule has been delayed, and it is now uncertain whether sentencing will take place. The New York Times (NYT) reported that "Trump, who could have faced up to four years in prison, is in a good position to avoid punishment for his crimes."