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Wednesday, July 3, 2024

New York court delays sentencing Donald Trump after immunity ruling

The new date gives Mr Trump time to focus on the upcoming Republican National Convention, where his presidential nomination is expected to be made formal.

• July 2, 2024
EX U.S. President Donald Trump
Former U.S. President Donald Trump [Photo credit: CNN]

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has succeeded in delaying his sentencing in the hush money scandal till September after arguing that the Supreme Court’s Monday ruling — that granted him broad immunity for “official” acts — could significantly alter his conviction.

Mr Trump’s lawyers had requested the postponement on the basis that the Supreme Court immunity ruling and the outcome of the findings by lower courts held sway on the hush money case for which the former president was already convicted.

Given that prosecutors offered no objections to the request, Judge Juan Merchan of the New York court postponed the sentencing previously scheduled for July 11 till September 18 in the hopes that the lower court would have determined whether Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 elections could be categorised as part of his “official” duties or not.

“The July 11, 2024, sentencing date is therefore vacated,” Mr Merchan wrote to Mr Trump’s lawyers and the New York prosecutors on Tuesday. “The court’s decision will be rendered off-calendar on September 6, 2024, and the matter is adjourned to September 18, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. for the imposition of sentence, if such is still necessary, or other proceedings.”

The new date gives Mr Trump time to focus on this month’s upcoming Republican National Convention, where his presidential nomination is expected to be made formal ahead of the hotly contested November polls.

In the New York court, Mr Trump was being legally hounded for paying off an adult star, Stormy Daniels, $130,000 to keep silent on his alleged sexual indiscretion with her before the 2016 presidential elections in which he defeated Hillary Clinton. His fixer, Michael Cohen, made the payment to Ms Daniels.

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