Former President Donald Trump’s sentencing in his New York hush money case has been postponed until after the November presidential election, marking a notable development in his ongoing legal battles. Scheduled initially for September 18, the sentencing has now been rescheduled to November 26, following a request from Trump’s legal team.
Judge Juan Merchan’s decision to delay sentencing comes after the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity. The judge noted that the delay is intended to best serve the interests of justice. Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts related to falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels, intended to suppress a politically damaging story on the eve of the 2016 election.
Originally set for July 11, the sentencing was postponed after the Supreme Court’s ruling extended broad immunity to former presidents from criminal prosecutions. Trump’s attorneys have since sought dismissal of his conviction based on this ruling. Judge Merchan is expected to rule on this dismissal motion on November 12.
This legal development occurs as Trump campaigns against Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in a highly competitive presidential race. The two candidates are preparing for their first televised debate next Tuesday.
On the day of the ruling, Trump, rather than addressing key voter issues, used his press conference to focus on his legal troubles. He denied accusations of sexual harassment or assault from multiple women, including writer E. Jean Carroll. Trump acknowledged the negative impact of his legal issues but continued to discuss them extensively.
The postponement coincides with the distribution of the first mail-in ballots for the election. In North Carolina, approximately 130,000 absentee ballots were set to be mailed out, marking the start of the national voting process. However, a last-minute lawsuit by independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has since dropped out and endorsed Trump, led to a halt in the distribution.
As the presidential race intensifies, with Trump and Harris crisscrossing swing states, other states will soon begin mailing out ballots, and early in-person voting is set to start across 47 states on September 20. Trump is scheduled to speak in North Carolina later today.
