NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s sentencing in his New York hush money case may be postponed from next week in light of Monday’s Supreme Court immunity ruling, with the Manhattan district attorney saying he is not opposed to a delay requested by Trump’s lawyers so they can seek to vacate his conviction.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office noted in a letter to the court Tuesday that sentencing would have to be delayed from July 11 for the defense to make its case about how the Supreme Court’s decision could affect Trump’s state court prosecution.
Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to an adult-film actress ahead of the 2016 presidential election was based in part on evidence of meetings and communications that occurred while he was president.
In a historic and far-reaching decision Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts, and that evidence cannot be used to prove alleged private criminal activity if that evidence is part of a president performing his official duties.
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan has previously ruled that Trump’s conduct in the falsifying records case has nothing to do with his official duties as president, a decision Merchan made when rejecting a request by Trump’s lawyers to postpone the trial until after the Supreme Court’s ruling on immunity. The Supreme Court ruling was sparked by a different Trump criminal case, his federal election-interference trial in D.C. But it may affect his other cases as well.
Merchan must now rule on whether to formally adjourn the sentencing.
Even as prosecutors said they would not oppose a delay, they also said in their letter that the defense arguments about how the Supreme Court ruling should affect the New York case are “without merit.”
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
