New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchán announced Friday that he would postpone the sentencing of the Former US President Donald TrumpRepublican candidate, after the presidential elections of December 5 November in the corruption case against porn actress Stormy Daniels. In it, Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a payment to the porn star to buy her silence before the 2016 election, which Trump won. First, The sentence was due to be announced on September 18.and. The judge instead decided to postpone it until November 26 after the presidential elections on November 5.Sentencing will be postponed to avoid any appearance “even unjustified – that the procedure has been affected or is intended to affect the next presidential elections in which the accused is a candidate,” explained Judge Juan Merchán in his decision to change the date.
Donald Trump’s lawyers had asked the judge to delay the sentencing, scheduled for September 18. They therefore requested a postponement would reduce doubts about the integrity of the case and accusations of electoral interference.
The delay means that Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, will avoid a public hearing that would have put his felony conviction back in the spotlight less than two months before voters go to the polls. As previously reported, the judge agrees with Trump’s lawyers in acknowledging that “The sentencing will be postponed to avoid any appearance – however unjustified – that the proceedings have been affected or are intended to affect the upcoming presidential elections in which the accused is a candidate.
