New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan has delayed indefinitely sentencing in President-elect Donald Trump’s business records case, raising questions about the future of the prosecution and whether sentencing will take place.
Sentencing was initially scheduled for July but was postponed until Nov. 26. In an order on Nov. 22, Merchan said that he was granting a request to adjourn that sentencing date.
After Trump’s election win earlier this month, Merchan stayed deadlines in the case until Nov. 19, when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office told him it supported postponing the sentencing date.
A letter dated Nov. 19 also showed that Trump’s attorneys wanted Merchan to dismiss the case. Merchan, on Nov. 22, set a deadline of Dec. 2 for Trump’s motion with a response from Bragg’s office due on Dec. 9.
Merchan’s decision came after a Nov. 19 letter from Trump’s attorneys called for immediate dismissal of the case.
“Immediate dismissal of this case is mandated by the federal Constitution, the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, and the interests of justice, in order to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power following President Trump’s overwhelming victory in the 2024 Presidential election,” Trump’s attorneys said.
The letter was the latest in a series of moves by Merchan and attorneys following the 2024 presidential election, which has thrown a wrench in the federal cases against Trump and cast serious doubt over whether the state-based cases against Trump can continue once he enters office.
In May, a jury found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts, raising the prospect that he could face prison. Experts told The Epoch Times that the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution would preclude Trump from serving prison time.
On Nov. 19, Bragg’s office argued that “no current law establishes that a president’s temporary immunity from prosecution requires dismissal of a post-trial criminal proceeding.”
Trump’s attorneys have argued that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States, which granted different levels of criminal immunity for presidents’ conduct, barred the use of certain evidence and witness testimony.
In his July response to Trump’s immunity arguments, Bragg argued that Trump had waited too long to raise some of his arguments about immunity. He also said a federal judge had deemed the conduct in question outside of a president’s official duties.
Trump Communications Director Steven Cheung celebrated Merchan’s decision on Nov. 22.
“In a decisive win for President Trump, the hoax Manhattan Case is now fully stayed and sentencing is adjourned,” he said. “President Trump won a landslide victory as the American People have issued a mandate to return him to office and dispose of all remnants of the Witch Hunt cases. All of the sham lawfare attacks against President Trump are now destroyed and we are focused on Making America Great Again.”
Janice Hisle contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times