The judge in Donald Trump’s case to maintain his silence has delayed a decision on whether to dismiss the charges with less than a month to go before his sentencing.
Judge Juan Merchán rejected a ruling on immunity in the case in which the president-elect was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to silence Stormy Daniels.
He agreed to a request from Trump’s defense team and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office to push back deadlines in the case for a week, to Nov. 19.
Merchan was expected to rule on the Trump team’s argument that the former president’s conduct was entitled to immunity protections following a Supreme Court ruling.
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo wrote to the judge on Sunday requesting the delay and noting the “impact on these proceedings by the results of the presidential election.”
‘The People agree that these are unprecedented circumstances,’ he wrote, noting the need to balance ‘a jury’s guilty verdict following a trial that has a presumption of regularity; and the Office of the President.’
Trump’s attorney, Emil Bove, called for a stay and dismissal of the case to “prevent unconstitutional impediments to President Trump’s ability to govern.”
In May, a Manhattan jury convicted Trump of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
He faces up to four years in prison, although many experts say the first-time offender was unlikely to go to prison even before his surprise election victory.
Sentencing in the case is still set for Nov. 26, although if Merchan were to dismiss the case before then it would be moot.
On the question of immunity, Merchan must decide whether evidence shown to jurors during the trial should have been kept out of the jurors’ reach. (The conservative majority’s 6-3 ruling came in July, after the trial.)
Trump’s team has already used the ruling, which establishes broad areas of “official” conduct that are protected from prosecution while a president is in office, to argue that the case should be dismissed.
Among the evidence at the trial were White House meetings between Trump and former fixer Michael Cohen, who was a star witness for the prosecution. Cohen was seeking a refund for payments paid to porn star Stormy Daniels. Cohen paid the porn star $130,000 weeks before the 2016 election and was reimbursed.
More to follow
The judge in Donald Trump’s hush money case has delayed a decision on whether to dismiss the charges with less than a month to go before his sentencing.