Judge postpones sentencing in Donald Trump bribery case until September

The sentencing of former US President Donald Trump on bribery charges has been postponed until September after a judge agreed on Tuesday to consider the possible impact of a new Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.

Trump was scheduled to be sentenced July 11 for his New York conviction for falsifying business records. He denies any wrongdoing.

The postponement means the verdict will be announced on September 18, well after the Republican National Convention, where Trump is expected to formally accept the party’s nomination for president in this year’s race.

The convention will be held July 15–18.

The Supreme Court ruling on Monday granted presidents broad immunity protections while barring prosecutors from citing any official actions as evidence in trying to prove that the president’s unofficial actions violate the law.

Hours after the verdict, Trump’s lawyer asked New York District Judge Juan M. Merchan to throw out the conviction and postpone sentencing while he considered how the higher court’s ruling would affect the bribery case.

He wrote that he would issue a ruling on September 6, and the next date in the case would be September 18, “if necessary.”

Manhattan prosecutors said Tuesday they would not oppose delaying sentencing for at least two weeks.

In a motion filed Monday, defense attorneys argued that Manhattan prosecutors placed “greatly prejudicial emphasis on evidence from official records,” including Trump’s social media posts and witness testimony about meetings in the Oval Office.

Prosecutors said Tuesday they considered those arguments “baseless” but said they did not oppose postponing sentencing until a judge reviews the case.

Trump was convicted on May 30 on 34 counts of falsifying business records in what prosecutors say was an attempt to cover up the fact that adult film actress Stormy Daniels received a $130,000 (£103,000) bribe just before the 2016 presidential election.

Ms Daniels alleges she had a sexual encounter with Mr Trump in 2006 after meeting him at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.

Trump has repeatedly denied those claims, saying during a June 27 debate with President Joe Biden, “I did not have sex with a porn star.”

Prosecutors said the payment to Daniels was part of a broader scheme to buy the silence of people who might have come forward publicly during the campaign with compromising stories about his extramarital sexual relationships.

Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid Ms. Daniels and later received a refund from Trump, whose firm booked the refunds as legal fees.

Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years in prison. Other potential sentences include probation, a fine or parole, which would require Trump to stay out of trouble to avoid additional punishment. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime.

Trump will be required to appear at a hearing in a Manhattan court where the verdict will be announced.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.