Former President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to be sentenced on September 18 after being found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records, is seeking a delay in his sentencing until after the upcoming election. Trump’s attorneys, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, have requested that New York Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the trial, postpone the sentencing to avoid potential impacts on future legal proceedings.
In a letter to Judge Merchan, the attorneys argued, “By adjourning the sentencing until after that election — which is of paramount importance to the entire Nation, the Court would reduce, even if not eliminate, issues regarding the integrity of any future proceedings.”
Trump was convicted in May on charges related to falsifying business records concerning a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election. Initially, his sentencing was scheduled for July 11, but at Trump’s request, Merchan postponed it to September 18. The delay was granted to allow Trump’s legal team time to present arguments that a U.S. Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity in a separate Trump case could potentially overturn his conviction.
The judge was expected to rule on the immunity motion by September 6, but the decision was postponed until September 16 after Trump’s lawyers requested a third time for Merchan to recuse himself due to an alleged conflict of interest. The judge denied this request earlier this week.
In their letter, Trump’s attorneys argued that the brief period between Merchan’s decision on the immunity motion and the sentencing date is insufficient for filing a proper appeal if the ruling goes against Trump. “A single business day is an unreasonably short period of time” for an appeal, Blanche wrote.
Additionally, the lawyers contended that the Manhattan District Attorney’s office should not be allowed to submit its sentencing recommendation while the immunity decision is still pending. They argued that doing so would be “personally and politically prejudicial to President Trump and his family, and harmful to the institution of the Presidency.”
As the legal battle continues, the request to delay sentencing until after the election raises questions about the intersection of legal proceedings and political timing. The court’s decision on this request will play a crucial role in determining the timeline of Trump’s legal challenges moving forward.