TRUMP HOLDS COURT IN NYC
Hush sentenceafter elex — as Don talks E. Jean case
Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush-money criminal case was delayed until after the November election — with a Manhattan judge on Friday saying the decision “best advances the interests of justice.”
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan’s bombshell ruling pushing the Sept. 18 sentencing to Nov. 26 means voters won’t know by Election Day the fate of the former president, who faces possible jail time.
In a four-page decision, Merchan wrote he was delaying the sentencing to combat “unwarranted” claims that his decision on Trump’s punishment could be based on politics rather than the law, so close to the election.
“The imposition of sentence will be adjourned to avoid any appearance — however unwarranted — that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching presidential election in which the defendant is a candidate,” Merchan wrote.
“The court is a fair, impartial and apolitical institution,” the judge added. “The members of this jury served diligently on this case, and their verdict must be respected and addressed in a manner that is not diluted by the enormity of the upcoming presidential election.”
Judge talks ‘justice’
Trump had asked the judge to adjourn the sentencing, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the case, did not oppose the request.
“This is not a decision this court makes lightly, but it is the decision which in this court’s view, best advances the interests of justice,” Merchan said.
Trump, 78, faces up four years in prison after being convicted of 34 counts of felony falsifying business records — but legal experts say that he’s more likely to get probation or community service. Any sentence would have also likely been paused pending Trump’s appeal, experts say.
The case centered on Trump’s $130,000 payout to porn star Stormy Daniels in what jurors at trial found was a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election.
A jury of 12 Manhattanites convicted Trump of 34 counts of felony falsifying business records tied to his company’s coverup of the Daniels payoff while he was president in 2018. He had originally been set to face sentencing on July 10 — but Merchan pushed the date back to Sept. 18 after July’s US Supreme Court ruling immunizing a president for “official acts” taken in office.
Trump’s lawyers have argued that the hush-money trial was “tainted” by evidence jurors heard from his White House stint, including the then-president admitting that he was relieved that Daniels’ account of having sex with him while he was married only came out after the 2016 election.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office has countered that the high court’s ruling does not affect the case because it’s not an “official” presidential act for Trump to lie on company records from the Oval Office to cover up a payoff to a porn star.
Trump’s lawyers in August urged Merchan to postpone the sentencing until after the election to give the Republican nominee time to appeal if the court — in a separate ruling now due by Nov. 12 — rejects Trump’s bid to order a new trial based on the Supreme Court ruling.
Bashes own lawyers
A spokesperson for the DA’s Office said Friday that it “stands ready for sentencing on the new date set by the court.”
Meanwhile, Trump was in New York City on Friday morning to hear arguments to overturn the $5 million judgment against him in E. Jean Carroll’s sexual abuse lawsuit. At a press conference at Trump Tower following the hearing in Manhattan federal court, the former president lashed out at his attorneys — as they awkwardly stood behind him.
“I have all this legal talent, but legal talent cannot overcome rigged judges,” Trump told reporters — as the group of attorneys listened on in awkward silence.
“They can’t overcome a 4% Republican area,” Trump said of the Empire State’s majority Democratic makeup. “And I am disappointed in my legal talent, I’ll be honest with you.”
Trump’s legal team earlier Friday argued to throw out the jury verdict finding the former president liable for sexual abuse and defamation.
His lawyer John Sauer told the three-judge panel that the verdict should be overturned in part because the trial judge allegedly wrongfully allowed jurors to hear testimony from Jessica Leeds about her claims Trump once groped her on an airplane in 1979.
The judges appeared skeptical of Sauer’s arguments to toss the verdict, with Circuit Judge Danny Chin at one point reminding Sauer: “As you know, we give great deference to district courts” on the kinds of “evidentiary” issues being argued here.