Trump’s sentencing in New York postponed until September 18 after Supreme Court ruling

Donald Trump’s sentencing in his New York silence case has been adjourned until September 18 to decide whether his historic conviction should be overturned following Monday’s Supreme Court ruling that presidents enjoy broad immunity from criminal prosecution.

“COMPLETE EXEMPTION!” Trump wrote on Truth Social after the news broke, although the delay does not absolve him of responsibility in the case. Trump added that the “beautifully written and historic Supreme Court decision” ends all “witch hunts” against him.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On May 30, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying records in connection with paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

However, on Monday, Trump’s legal team sent a letter to Judge Juan Merchan asking for permission to file a motion to overturn the convictions.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office suggested Tuesday that this could be a reason to delay Trump’s sentencing, currently scheduled for July 11.

“While we believe the defendant’s arguments are without merit, we do not oppose his request for leave to file the motion and his alleged request to postpone sentencing until his motion is decided,” prosecutors wrote in a letter to Merchan on Tuesday.

More: Mainstream media pushes to broadcast Trump’s ‘bribery’ verdict live

In his decision Tuesday, Merchan agreed to delay sentencing until Sept. 18 “if it remains necessary” after he rules on the immunity issue.

Questioning the evidence

The New York hush-money case involved a series of payments in 2017 that Trump, then in the White House, made to his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen. Prosecutors said the money was used to reimburse Cohen for $130,000 he paid Daniels to buy her silence before Election Day about an alleged affair with Trump.

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that courts should presume that official presidential acts are immune from prosecution, although prosecutors can rebut that presumption by showing that prosecution does not risk impinging on the powers and functions of the executive branch. The Supreme Court also ruled that presidents are completely immune from prosecution for actions taken within the framework of the president’s exclusive constitutional authority. Unofficial acts can still be prosecuted.

Under the ruling, prosecutors cannot introduce evidence of official conduct even if the indictment alleges unofficial conduct, Trump’s lawyers noted in their letter to Merchan. They focused in particular on witness testimony during the trial about the events in the Oval Office, Trump’s social media posts during his presidency and recordings of Trump’s phone calls during his presidency.

More: In historic ruling on presidential immunity, Supreme Court says Trump can be tried for private actions

Previous Attempt to Delay Presidential Immunity Rejected

In early April, Merchan rejected Trump’s request to delay the trial on the basis of presidential immunity, saying Trump had made the argument too late.

Merchan said Trump raised the issue on March 7, well after the 45-day period allowed under New York state law for filing pretrial motions had expired, even though Trump had long known he could use the defense of presidential immunity.

Merhan also noted that Trump filed court papers in the fall raising the immunity issue in his federal election interference case and discussed the issue as he sought to have his New York criminal case moved to federal court in May 2023, suggesting that showed Trump could have made that argument earlier in the silence case.

However, in a letter Monday, Trump’s lawyers said Merchan later informed both legal teams that he would rule on challenges to presidential immunity as they arose, and ultimately recorded at least one such challenge.

Collaboration: David Jackson, USA TODAY