The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s hush money trial has postponed a key ruling on presidential immunity to two days before Trump’s scheduled sentencing.
Originally, the immunity decision was set for September 6, with sentencing scheduled for September 18. However, Trump’s lawyers recently requested that Judge Juan M. Merchan first address their renewed motion for him to recuse himself from the case. In response, Judge Merchan announced in a public letter on Tuesday that he would delay the immunity ruling to September 16, pending his decision on the recusal request next week.
Despite the postponement, Trump is still expected in court on September 18 for sentencing or other appropriate proceedings, as stated by Judge Merchan.
Both Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office declined to comment on the matter.
A jury found Trump guilty in May of falsifying business records to cover up a payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election, as she considered going public with a story about a decade-old sexual encounter with Trump. Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, paid Daniels and was later reimbursed by Trump, whose company falsely recorded the repayment as legal expenses. Prosecutors argued that this was an effort to disguise the true nature of the transactions and the hush money deal.
Trump denies Daniels’ claims, insists he did nothing wrong, and argues the case is politically motivated by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.
Trump’s lawyers assert that the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity should overturn the May guilty verdict and dismiss the hush money case. They argue the trial was compromised by inadmissible evidence under the high court’s ruling, including testimony from some Trump White House staffers and his tweets from 2018.
The Supreme Court’s ruling limits prosecutions of ex-presidents for official acts and restricts using such acts as evidence of illegal unofficial actions.
However, the Manhattan DA’s office contends that the high court’s opinion is irrelevant to the hush money case, as it involves unofficial acts for which Trump is not immune.
In the meantime, Trump’s lawyers have again requested Judge Merchan recuse himself, citing his daughter’s work for Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, raising concerns about his impartiality. Harris is now the Democratic nominee for president.
Judge Merchan had previously rejected two recusal requests, deeming the defense’s concerns speculative and unsupported. However, Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche argued that Harris’ current candidacy makes these concerns more concrete and urged the judge to address them in more detail.