The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial has adjourned his sentencing, which was set for next week.
Judge Juan Merchan also agreed to hold off on issuing his decision on presidential immunity until after he reviews the parties’ filings.
Merchan granted Trump’s request to file a motion to dismiss the case, ordering his legal team to submit their papers by December 2, and prosecutors have a week to respond. Trump’s team wanted to have until December 20 to file their paperwork.
The judge did not set a new sentencing date or make any further statements about the delay. Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump, called Mechan’s decision a “decisive win” for the president-elect.
Trump’s legal and political fates have seen an abrupt turnaround a year after he was facing four separate indictments. In light of his election victory earlier this month, Trump’s two federal cases are winding down, while the Georgia state case has long been dormant and the New York case is poised to end indefinitely without a sentence.
In a letter to Merchan earlier this month, the district attorney’s office also acknowledged that Trump is not likely to be sentenced “until after the end of Defendant’s upcoming presidential term.”
Although District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, has said Trump’s felony conviction should stand, a source close to the district attorney’s office said it is open to a four-year pause of the case.
Trump’s lawyers have argued his conviction should be tossed both because of the presidential immunity decision and his return to the White House.
Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records over payments made to his then-lawyer Michael Cohen to reimburse a $130,000 hush money payment made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels to keep her from speaking out about an alleged affair before the 2016 election. Trump has denied the affair.
His sentencing, originally scheduled for July, was delayed twice after the Supreme Court’s immunity decision prompted Trump’s lawyers to file a motion to vacate the conviction.
That effort, along with other tactics, including seeking to move the case into federal court, further delayed the proceedings and prompted Merchan to push the sentencing decision and a ruling on immunity until after the November election.
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