Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in May after a jury found he had fraudulently manipulated business records to cover up an alleged sexual encounter with a porn star ahead of the 2016 election. Prosecutors argued that concealing the alleged tryst was intended to help him win his first run for the White House.

It is… ordered that the joint application for a stay of sentencing is granted to the extent that the November 26, 2024 date is adjourned,” said judge Juan Merchan in an order.

Trump’s legal team have cited a Supreme Court ruling giving presidents sweeping immunity for official acts. That landmark ruling saw the court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, decide that presidents have sweeping immunity from prosecution for a range of official acts committed while in office.

Trump’s former attorney general Bill Barr previously said that both the New York case as well as others around the country had been “plainly brought for political purposes (and) have now been extensively aired and rejected in the court of public opinion.” Trump has repeatedly derided the hush money case as a witch hunt, saying it “should be rightfully terminated.”

Alongside the New York case, brought by state-level prosecutors, Trump faces two active federal cases: one related to his effort to overturn the 2020 election and the other connected to classified documents he allegedly mishandled after leaving office. However, as president, he would be able to intervene to end those cases, and Smith, the special counsel handling both cases, has reportedly begun to wind them down.

  • psvrh@lemmy.ca
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    1 month ago

    For a country that fought to not have a king, they really seem to want one.