A New York judge is expected to announce Friday when former President Donald Trump will be sentenced for falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to an adult film star.
Trump has tried twice to delay the sentencing after his conviction in May by a unanimous jury for 34 counts of falsifying business documents.
The verdict was originally scheduled for July 11, but Judge Juan Merchan pushed that date back to September 18 after Trump asked the judge to overturn his conviction. Trump cited a Supreme Court ruling that former presidents enjoy immunity for “official acts” and that evidence related to presidential work cannot be included in criminal trials.
Merchan said he would rule on Trump’s request to overturn the jury’s verdict just two days before the currently scheduled sentencing on September 16.
In August, Trump asked for the sentencing date to be pushed back even further, until after the presidential election. Trump’s lawyers said another delay would give his team time to appeal if Merchan rejects their request to overturn the conviction.
While waiting for Merchan’s decision, Trump also pursued another route to delay sentencing. He asked a federal judge to take over the case, saying it belonged in federal court. The federal judge rejected this request on Wednesdayand Trump appealed.
On Thursday, a lawyer for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg informed the appeals court that Merchan would deliver his decision on sentencing tomorrow.
“The judge has now informed the parties that the decision will be rendered tomorrow,” Bragg’s lawyer wrote.
Prosecutors said Trump signed a scheme to conceal payments to a lawyer who paid $130,000 to “silence” adult film star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election. Trump has denied the encounter and pleaded not guilty.
Merchan has wide latitude in determining Trump’s sentence. The charges carry a maximum sentence of four years in prison, but this is Trump’s first conviction. Merchan can also impose a sentence that involves various alternatives to incarceration, including probation.
