Judge postpones Trump’s sentencing in 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 impact of the immunity ruling sends a loud and clear message to justice in the United States,” Trump said on his Truth Social website after the ruling was delayed.

Using capital letters, he said the Supreme Court decision brought him a “complete acquittal” in this and other criminal cases he has faced.

Manhattan prosecutors handling the bribery case had no immediate comment on the decision to delay sentencing.

The postponement sets a Sept. 18 sentencing date, well after the Republican National Convention, where Trump is set to formally accept the party’s presidential nomination for this year’s race. The convention is scheduled for July 15-18.

September, however, is much closer to November’s Election Day, which could put the issue in the spotlight for voters. Because of the mail-in voting schedule in some states, some voters may have already cast their ballots before anyone knows whether the former president will face time in jail or under house arrest.

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 Judge Juan M. Merchan to vacate the jury’s conviction and postpone sentencing to consider how the high court’s ruling might affect the hush money case. He wrote that he would issue a ruling on Sept. 6, with the next date in the case being Sept. 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.

The delay caps a series of political and legal victories for Trump in recent days, including a Supreme Court ruling on immunity and a debate widely seen as a disaster for Democratic President Joe Biden.

The immunity decision all but closed the door on the possibility that Trump could face trial on 2020 election interference charges in Washington before the November vote. The timeline itself is a victory for the former president, who had sought to delay his four criminal cases beyond the vote.

An appeals court recently put a separate election interference case against Trump in Georgia on hold; no trial date has been set. His federal secrets case in Florida remains mired in pretrial disputes that have led to an indefinite postponement of the trial date.

The Supreme Court ruled that former presidents are absolutely immune from prosecution for actions that fall within their core constitutional duties, such as interacting with the Justice Department, and at least presumptively immune from prosecution for all other official actions. The justices left intact the long-standing principle that there is no immunity for purely personal actions.

It is unclear what impact the decision will have on the New York bribery 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 sexual contact with Mr. Trump in 2006 after meeting him at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe. Mr. Trump has repeatedly denied the allegation, saying during a June 27 debate with President Joe Biden: “I did not have sex with a porn star.”

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