Judge postpones Trump bribery sentencing until September

A New York judge has postponed Donald Trump’s sentencing in the case of a felony charge of concealing the truth by a porn star until September 18, after the former US president asked for a chance to argue that he should be protected from prosecution.

The verdict was scheduled for July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention opens in Milwaukee on July 15.

The new timeline means Trump will likely be nominated by his party to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden pending a verdict.

Judge Juan Merchan will decide Trump’s punishment, including imprisonment, while the campaign trail for the Nov. 5 election continues.

Trump will face an uphill battle to overturn his silence conviction because much of the conduct at issue in the case occurred before he was in office.

On Monday, Trump’s lawyers asked Merchan to allow them to argue that the conviction, issued in New York state court in Manhattan, should be overturned because of a July 1 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that presidents are entitled to immunity from prosecution for official actions.

Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said earlier Tuesday that Trump’s arguments were “without merit” but agreed to delay sentencing to give Trump a chance to present his case.

In a written order, Merchan said he would rule on Trump’s motion by Sept. 6, with sentencing expected within two weeks if the judge decides to uphold the conviction.

Trump’s attorneys have until July 10 to present their arguments, and prosecutors have until July 24 to respond.

On May 30, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 (A$195,100) payment from his former lawyer Michael Cohen to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter until the 2016 election, in which Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Prosecutors said the payment was part of an illegal scheme to influence the election outcome.

Trump denies having sex with Daniels and has said he will appeal the verdict once it is announced.

In their letter to Merchan, defense attorneys argued that prosecutors had presented evidence relating to Trump’s official activities as president, including his social media posts and conversations he had while in the White House.

According to a Supreme Court ruling, prosecutors cannot use evidence related to official actions to prove crimes involving unofficial actions.

“This type of evidence filed in the form of public records should never have been presented to a jury,” attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote.

Trump made a similar argument last year in an unsuccessful attempt to move the bribery case to federal court.

In denying Trump’s motion in July 2023, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein wrote that the payment to Daniels “was a purely personal matter.”

“The hush money paid to an adult film star has no connection with the president’s official actions,” Hellerstein wrote.

Trump’s lawyers appealed Hellerstein’s decision but later dropped their efforts.