Judge postpones decision on Trump's hush money conviction

The judge in Donald Trump's hush money case in New York agreed Tuesday to postpone a decision on whether to overturn Trump's conviction based on the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision on presidential immunity.

Judge Juan Merchan was scheduled to decide the fate of the case on Tuesday, but the Manhattan district attorney's office signaled that it needs more time to consider what to do next after Trump is the president-elect.

“The people agree that these are unprecedented circumstances,” prosecutors wrote in an email to the judge.

Judge Juan Merchan gave prosecutors until November 19th

“As requested by the People, the People must submit to the Court off-calendar their views on appropriate future steps,” Merchan wrote.

A jury in May convicted Trump of all 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush-money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniel to silence allegations of a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump and boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election .

Sentencing in the case is currently scheduled for Nov. 26, less than two months before Trump's inauguration.

While the $130,000 payment preceded Trump's inauguration as president, Trump claimed prosecutors filled “glaring gaps in their case” with evidence related to official acts he took later in office – which the Supreme Court ruled in his July ruling declared taboo on presidential immunity.

Prosecutors have argued that the case focuses on “entirely personal” conduct with no connection to any official duty of the president.

“[T]“The evidence he claims is affected by the Supreme Court’s decision represents only a fraction of the mountains of testimony and documentary evidence the jury considered in finding him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of all 34 crimes “said prosecutors.

Defense attorneys have argued that certain evidence — including Trump's conversations with then-White House communications director Hope Hicks and Trump's social media posts as president — affected the jury's understanding of the case.

In an example cited by prosecutors, Hicks testified that Trump said he preferred the story about his hush-money payment to be made public after the election, suggesting he was aware that Daniels' allegations could have influenced the race. In his closing statement, a prosecutor described the testimony as the final “nail in Mr. Trump's coffin.”

In response, prosecutors argued that Hicks' testimony “referred solely to unofficial conduct” and could not be considered immune.

Trump has asked to overturn the verdict or dismiss the case entirely. If Judge Merchan overturns the conviction, he could order a new trial — which would be delayed for at least four years until Trump leaves office — or dismiss the charges entirely.

Merchan has already postponed sentencing twice – first after the immunity decision in July and again in September – to “avoid any appearance, however unjustified, that the proceedings were influenced or attempted to be influenced by the upcoming presidential election.” said the judge.

With Trump's victory, his inauguration is scheduled to take place less than two months after his conviction, which experts say limits Merchan's ability to punish the president-elect.

Trump's conviction carries a prison sentence of up to four years, but first-time offenders typically receive lesser sentences.

Meanwhile, special counsel Jack Smith is expected to drop both federal criminal cases against Trump – related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and to preserve classified documents after he leaves the White House – based on a longstanding Justice Department policy that that prohibits prosecution of sitting presidents. Trump's criminal election interference case in Georgia was also mired in delays, making his conviction in New York the last of his criminal hurdles before he regains the presidency.

In his September order postponing sentencing until this month, Judge Merchan described the case as “an isolated incident in a unique place in this nation's history.”