New York Judge Juan Merchan on Tuesday postponed a decision on whether to dismiss President-elect Donald Trump's conviction in his hush money case based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
Merchan had been set to make a decision on Tuesday but reportedly told Trump's lawyers that he had delayed the ruling until November 19.
Trump became the first former president convicted of a felony when a jury in May convicted him on 34 counts of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to influence the 2016 election through a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels.
He denied any wrongdoing and the allegation of the extramarital sexual encounter, saying prosecution was a politically-motivated "witch hunt" aimed at harming his 2024 presidential campaign.
Merchan twice postponed Trump's sentencing after the Supreme Court ruled on July 1 that presidents have broad immunity from prosecution over their official acts. The decision also restricted prosecutors from using those actions even to bolster a case centered on personal conduct.
Although Trump was a private citizen when his then-lawyer Michel Cohen paid Daniels, his lawyers cited the high court's ruling to argue that the jury in the hush money case received evidence that it should not have, including his presidential financial disclosure form and testimony from some White House aides.
Prosecutors have urged Merchan to uphold the conviction, arguing the ruling "has no bearing" on the case and that the evidence in question was only "a sliver of the mountains of testimony and documentary proof that the jury considered."
Trump's return to the White House could also essentially end the three other criminal cases brought against him for now. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He said last month that he would fire special counsel Jack Smith "within two seconds" of being sworn into office. After Trump's win, Smith is reportedly looking at ways to "wind down" the federal prosecutions over Trump's attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and his handling of classified documents after leaving office in 2021.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information becomes available.
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About the writer
Jon Jackson AND Khaleda Rahman
Jon Jackson is an Associate Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ...
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