Sentencing of President-elect Donald Trump for his May criminal conviction has been delayed again, a judge ruled Friday.
This is the third time the sentence has been postponed since Trump was convicted for his role in hiding a “secret” payment.
Judge Juan Merchan gave Trump’s lawyers until Dec. 2 to file a motion to dismiss the case outright. They argued the case should be dropped because Trump was elected president.
Merchan’s decision ends months of speculation about when, if ever, Trump might learn his fate after May’s historic conviction.
Prosecutors for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a letter to Merchan on Tuesday that they did not oppose delaying sentencing – even until after Trump’s presidency – but added that they would oppose any attempt to dismiss the case.
Trump’s lawyers said Tuesday evening that the conviction should be overturned and the case dismissed because Trump had been elected president. Moving forward with the case, they argued, would be unconstitutional.
In May, a 12-person jury unanimously made Trump the first former president in American history. convicted of crimes. On November 5, just under half of voters made Trump the first person in American history elected president after being convicted of crimes.
The jury concluded Trump had committed 34 crimes after signing a plan to hide reimbursements from Michael Cohenhis former lawyer and fixer. The reimbursements related to a $130,000 payment Cohen made to an adult film star. Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. Cohen and Daniels said he was paying for his silence about an alleged sexual relationship with Trump. The payment has often been referred to as a “hush money” payment.
Trump insists he is not guilty of falsifying business records — the charge he was convicted of — and has vehemently denied Daniels’ story.
