Former President Donald Trump is hoping to delay his sentencing in the Stormy Daniels hush money case until after the November election, but there’s a chance that if that doesn’t happen, the ex-president could spend Election Night behind bars.
The Republican presidential candidate was found guilty in May by a Manhattan jury of 34 counts of falsifying business records. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 18, after being delayed following a Supreme Court ruling.
John Yoo, a former Justice Department official under George W. Bush, told DailyMail.com that if the sentencing date is upheld, Judge Juan Merchan could send the former president to jail in the final stretch of the campaign.
“Yes, the judge has the ability to order Trump to be imprisoned immediately after sentencing,” Yoo said.
Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers said it would be “election interference” to go ahead with the Sept. 18 sentencing in his Stormy Daniels hush money case
Yoo and other lawyers do not expect the former president to be sentenced to prison because it is his first offense, but that is up to the judge.
“I“This would prove how wrong Judge Merchan really is,” Yoo said. ‘Trump is a non-violent, first-time offender convicted of accounting fraud.’
Yoo noted that Trump has a strong case in the appeal and said he believes the former president should win on appeal.
“A sensible judge would allow Trump to be out while his case is proceeding,” he said.
In a letter to Merchan this week, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche argued for a delay in sentencing, citing the risk of “election interference.”
Blanche wrote that sentencing should be “deferred until after the presidential election” and the failed effort to get Merchan to recuse herself from the case because of her daughter’s work for a company that runs digital advertising campaigns for Democrats.
President Trump leaves a Manhattan courtroom on May 30 after a New York jury found him guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up paying Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet before the 2016 election.
He also criticized Kamala Harris’ new running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, for “mistakenly referring to this case in a public speech as the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee.”
Harris, a former district attorney and California attorney general, has made pursuing “predators” and other suspects a key part of her rhetoric since replacing President Joe Biden.
Trump wants to prevent District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office from filing a sentencing request while the court considers Trump’s motion on presidential immunity, following the Supreme Court’s ruling last month.
The US president has immunity from prosecution for official acts in the exercise of his office, the Supreme Court ruled in a landmark decision in early June with huge implications for presidential powers and criminal cases against Donald Trump.
The case centered on special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Trump for allegedly plotting attempts to overthrow the 2020 election while he was in office, including on Jan. 6.
The former president’s team argued that Trump, and any president, should have absolute immunity from prosecution for actions taken while in office or they could undermine important decision-making.
The court’s 6-3 decision, split along ideological lines, ensures that Trump will not face another high-stakes trial before the November election and that the case will be sent back to a lower court to determine what constitutes his “official” and “unofficial” acts.
New York Judge Juan Merchan has already delayed sentencing following a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity
“The President does not enjoy immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything he does is official. The President is not above the law,” wrote the justices led by Chief Justice John Roberts.
Judge Merchan is scheduled to rule on the immunity issue on Sept. 16, and Trump’s team wants him to postpone sentencing until any appeal is allowed to proceed.
Despite the ruling, Merchan had previously said the Sept. 18 sentencing date “has not changed.” While he has not yet responded to requests from Trump’s lawyers, Yoo does not expect the extension to be granted.
“Judge Merchan has ruled against Trump every time he’s had the law, even when Trump has had the law on his side,” Yoo said.
“I think he has used the process to humiliate Trump and cause him political damage. I suppose Merchán would want to sentence Trump before the election and condemn him to spend time behind bars.”