Former President Donald Trump will now be sentenced Sept. 18 in the hush money case that resulted in the former president being found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
The date of the sentencing was moved so Trump can argue his stance that his conviction should be thrown out due to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity, according to Politico.
The delay, from July 11 to Sept. 18, is a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling that former presidents have “absolute” immunity from criminal prosecution. The caveat is that the immunity is over actions that fall within that person’s “core constitutional powers.”
Former presidents are also entitled to immunity for many other “official” acts.
That ruling was related to Trump’s case regarding him trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
However, Trump’s camp will try to imply the same logic works in the hush money case.
Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the hush money trial, only set a schedule for parties to submit their briefs regarding immunity and did not elaborate further on the sentencing.
Prosecutors said they would not oppose a change in the sentencing timeline, as IJR reported on.
“Although we believe defendant’s arguments to be without merit, we do not oppose his request for leave to file and his putative request to adjourn sentencing pending determination of his motion,” assistant district attorney Josh Steinglass said in a letter to Merchan.
In their letter to Merchan, Trump’s lawyers said prosecutors should have been precluded from using evidence related to his official acts.
Defense lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote since the Supreme Court ruled as it did, “it will be manifest that the trial result cannot stand.”
This delay can be viewed as a victory for Trump’s campaign, Politico reported, since delaying all of his cases have been the campaign’s modus operandi.
Sentencing was to take place shortly before the Republican National Convention. It will be two months before the general election.
The second presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 10 — a week before the new sentencing date.
Trump faces a maximum of four years in prison for his conviction, although legal experts speculate probation or a fine is a more likely scenario.
