Judge Juan Merchán ordered the indefinite delay of the sentencing of the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, in the Stormy Daniels case while the defense presents its arguments. The sentencing was scheduled for November 26. Merchan also allowed Trump’s lawyers to file a motion to dismiss the case, asking them to file all necessary documents by December 2. The prosecution will have a week to respond.
The judge’s decision was a “decisive victory” for Trump, a spokesman for the president-elect said. Stephen Cheung.
On November 19, representatives of the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sent a letter to Murchan asking him to consider delaying the sentencing date rather than dismissing the cases, as Trump’s lawyers had demanded. The US president-elect’s team insisted that the conviction would create “an unconstitutional impediment to President Trump’s ability to govern.”
On May 30, a jury found Trump guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying the Trump Organization’s financial records to conceal payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for silence about their intimate relationship in 2006. Each of the charges carries up to four years in prison, which means that in total the former president faces a maximum of 136 years in prison. It is unlikely that Trump will be sent to prison, since it is the first time that a politician takes criminal responsibility and for a non-violent crime, clarifies RBC. Rather, Trump faces a fine, probation or, at most, house arrest.
Merchan was scheduled to sentence Trump in July, but the sentencing was later postponed until November 26. Two weeks earlier, on Nov. 12, the judge had planned to rule on whether the trial contradicted the Supreme Court’s July ruling that Trump had partial immunity for acts committed during his presidency, but decided to first consult with prosecutors about how to proceed. with the case in light of Donald Trump’s electoral victory.
Trump also faces two cases of attempted interference in the 2020 presidential election: one at the federal level and another at the state level in Georgia, where Trump’s team sought to have local authorities review the election results. Special prosecutor Jack Smith, who initiated Trump’s prosecution, plans to resign and is expected to soon request dismissal of the federal case due to a long-standing Justice Department policy barring the prosecution of a sitting U.S. president.
In Georgia, the president-elect’s team wants to remove the Fulton County district attorney from the case. Fani Willis due to the revelation of a previous romantic relationship with a fellow prosecutor, and then it is unlikely that anyone else will take on the case. Otherwise, Trump’s lawyers will use his presidential immunity and the case will return to court after the Republican leaves the White House, writes ABC News.
Trump was also previously accused of violating federal law for illegally storing classified documents in his Florida mansion. In July, the district judge Eileen Canon closed the case.
