Judge in Trump Hush-Money Case Indefinitely Delays Sentencing as Bragg Maneuvers To Keep Case Alive, Trump Moves To Have Case Scuttled

The New York judge, presiding over President Trump’s hush-money case, Juan Merchan, adjourned the sentence hearing, scheduled for next Tuesday indefinitely and granted the defense its request to file a motion to dismiss the case. “GRANTED… GRANTED… GRANTED… GRANTED…” The judge wrote the word ‘granted’ four times in capital letters on his brief ruling, which he published Friday, granting four different requests without offering any reasons or explanations, and most significantly without making any actual decisions. Judge Merchan granted Trump’s attorneys their request to file a motion to dismiss the entire case, meaning the guilty verdict and the charges, arguing, as the Sun previously reported, that as the president-elect, Trump deserves the same protection from criminal prosecution that a sitting president is entitled to. The Constitution prohibits all and any criminal prosecution of a sitting president, and those same principles, the defense held should be extended to a president elect in transition to ensure a smooth assumption of power. Notably, Trump has appointed several members of his legal team to senior administration roles, including Todd Blanche, author of these defense motions, who’s being nominated to the second most senior role in the Department of Justice. Emil Bove, another lawyer on the hush money legal team, has also been nominated to a senior role and Main Justice.In their pre-motion letter, the defense asked for a December 20 filing deadline, pushing their motion into the Christmas holiday. But the judge ordered them to file “by the close of business Monday, December 2, 2024.” He ordered the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, who brought the case against Trump, to file his reply by December 9. Judge Juan Merchan in his chambers at New York, March 14, 2024. AP Photo/Seth WenigJudge Merchan also granted the defense its request to hold off his ruling on another motion Trump filed in the summer, when he asked the judge to dismiss the case based on the Supreme Court’s landmark decision that former presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts committed in service of their presidency. (The defense argued that evidence used in the hush-money trial stemmed from the time Trump served as the 45th president, thus, granting him immunity from the charges.) Last but not least, he adjourned the sentence hearing, for November 26, indefinitely. In May, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony charges of falsification of business records in an alleged scheme to interfere with the 2016 election.At the heart of the case was a $130,000 hush-money payment that Trump’s then-personal attorney, Michael Cohen, made to the adult film star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, in 2016 to buy her silence about her claim that she had a single sexual encounter with Trump at a celebrity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe in 2006. The prosecution accused Trump of directing Cohen to wire the money to Ms. Clifford and then disguising his reimbursement to Cohen as a legal fee. Trump denies all charges and says he never had sex with Ms. Clifford.Stormy Daniels testifies on the witness stand as a promotional image for one of her shows featuring an image of Trump is displayed on monitors in Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, May 9, 2024, at New York. Elizabeth Williams via APJudge Merchan scheduled the sentence hearing for July 11. But hours after the Supreme Court published its decision on presidential immunity on July 1, Trump’s attorneys urged Judge Merchan to adjourn the sentencing until he had reviewed their argument that the Supreme Court’s ruling made him immune to the hush-money charges. The judge agreed and adjourned the sentence hearing to September 18. But in mid August Trump’s team asked him to postpone the sentencing again, this time arguing that it would influence voters in the upcoming election. Judge Merchan agreed again and set the new sentencing date for November 26.And now, he has, again moved the sentencing hearing without offering a new date, “to the extent that the November 26,2024, date is adjourned.” In a statement to the media, Trump’s Communications Director, Steven Cheung, said, “In a decisive win for President Trump, the hoax Manhattan Case is now fully stayed and sentencing is adjourned. 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.” – Though postponing the sentencing could be portrayed as a win, it doesn’t actually end the case, it just kicks the can down the alley. Judge Merchan has yet to decide on both motions to dismiss, the one that argues that a president elect holds the same rights as a sitting president, and the one that argues presidential immunity applies to the Stormy Daniels case. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, left, and President Trump watch as the jury is polled after the verdict was read in Manhattan Criminal Court, Thursday, May 30, 2024, at New York. Elizabeth Williams via APIn his letter to the judge, Mr. Bragg argued that dismissing the verdict and the charges would jeopardize the jury’s verdict. He strongly disagrees with throwing out the case entirely, and suggested holding off on the sentencing until after Trump’s presidency ends in 2029 when Trump is 82. It’s important to note that by New York law, Trump is not actually convicted until he is sentenced, which is why his attorneys are urging the judge to erase the verdict and the charges. Judge Merchan is holding off on making any ruling until he has received motions from both sides by December 9.

Judge in Trump Hush-Money Case Indefinitely Delays Sentencing as Bragg Maneuvers To Keep Case Alive, Trump Moves To Have Case Scuttled

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