Judge delays sentencing of Trump in hush-money case after Supreme Court ruling

Former President Donald Trump's sentencing in his bribery case has been postponed until at least September after the judge agreed Tuesday to weigh the possible impact of a new sentence. Supreme Court Ruling on Presidential Immunity.

Trump was scheduled to go on trial July 11 on charges of falsifying business records. He denies any wrongdoing.

The postponement sets a sentencing date of September 18 at the earliest — if it ever happens, since Trump's lawyers argue that the Supreme Court's decision justifies not only delaying sentencing but also overturning his conviction.

The new date comes well after this month's Republican National Convention, where Trump is expected to formally accept the party's nomination for president for this year's race.

September, however, is much closer to Election Day, which could bring the issue to the forefront of voters' minds just as they are turning their attention seriously to the race.

The Trump campaign and Manhattan prosecutors, who brought the case, had no immediate comment.

The delay caps a series of political and legal victories won by Trump in recent days, including the Supreme Court's decision on immunity and a debate widely regarded as a disaster for Democratic President Joe Biden.

The immunity ruling all but closes the door on Trump being tried in his 2020 election interference case in Washington before the November vote. The timing itself is a victory for the former president, who has sought to delay his four criminal cases until after the election.

A The Court of Appeal recently suspended its work Another election interference case against Trump, in Georgia; no trial date has been set. His classified federal documents case in Florida remains mired in pretrial disputes that resulted in an indefinite cancellation of the trial date.

Monday's Supreme Court ruling granted broad immunity protections to presidents, while barring prosecutors from citing official acts as evidence to try to prove that a president's unofficial actions violated the law.

Hours after its publication, Trump's lawyer request that New York Judge Juan M. Merchan overturned the jury's guilty verdict and delayed sentencing to consider how the Supreme Court's decision might affect the hush-money case.

Merchan wrote that he would rule on Sept. 6 and that the next date in the case would be Sept. 18, “if that is still necessary.”

In their brief filed Monday, defense lawyers argued that Manhattan prosecutors gave “significantly prejudicial weight to evidence of official acts,” including Trump’s social media posts and witness testimony about Oval Office meetings.

Prosecutors said before the judge's ruling Tuesday that they believed those arguments were “without merit” but would not oppose a two-week adjournment of sentencing while the judge considers the case.

Trump was convicted on May 30 of 34 counts of falsifying business records stemming from what prosecutors said was an attempt to conceal a $130,000 cash payment to porn star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election.

Daniels claims she had sex with Trump in 2006 after meeting him at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe. Trump has repeatedly denied the claim, saying during his June 27 debate with Biden, “I did not have sex with a porn star.”

Prosecutors said Daniels’ payment was part of a larger scheme to buy the silence of people who might have publicly revealed embarrassing stories during the campaign that Trump had extramarital sex. Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels and was later reimbursed by Trump, whose firm recorded the reimbursements as legal fees.

Falsifying business records carries a possible sentence of up to four years in prison. Other possible penalties include probation, a fine or parole, which would require Trump to stay out of trouble to avoid further punishment. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime.

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Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak contributed to this report from Fort Pierce, Fla.