The judge overseeing Donald J. Trump’s criminal case in Manhattan has postponed his sentencing until after election day, November 5, a significant victory for the former president who is trying to reclaim the White House.
In a decision announced on Friday, Judge Juan M. Merchan rescheduled the sentencing for November 26. He had previously planned to impose punishment on Trump on September 18, just seven weeks before election day.
“This is not a decision that this court takes lightly, but it is the decision that, in the opinion of this court, best serves the interests of justice,” Judge Merchan wrote in the four-page decision, noting that “this matter is unique, in a unique place in the history of this nation.”
While the decision avoids a spectacle in court in the final stretch of the electoral campaign, it could still impact the election by keeping voters in the dark about whether the Republican presidential candidate will end up spending any time behind bars.
It is unclear whether the announcement of Trump’s sentencing in September would have helped or hurt him politically; his punishment could have been an embarrassing reminder of his criminal record, but it could also have bolstered his claims that his conviction is politically motivated.
Remember the case
Trump, the first American ex-president to become a criminal, could face up to four years in prison for being found guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to a former porn star with whom he allegedly had an affair. The judge may impose a shorter sentence or just probation.
The Manhattan case is the only one of the four charges Trump faces in court that has gone to trial. Trump’s defense teams have managed to secure delays for the others until after the November elections.
Source: The New York Times