Verdict in Trump hush money case postponed until after November election

Judge Juan Merchan has postponed the sentencing hearing for former President Donald Trump until after the November election. The hearing was originally scheduled for September 18.

Merchan has postponed the sentencing date to November 26.

This is the second time the verdict has been postponed. Trump's verdict was originally scheduled to be announced on July 11, but the court pushed that date back two months after the Supreme Court ruled that presidents were entitled to certain immunity for official acts while in office.

In May, a jury found Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in his New York hush-money trial, making him the first American president to be convicted of a crime. During the six-week trial, prosecutors argued that Trump falsified the records to cover up incriminating stories before the 2016 presidential election, including an alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels.

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Merchan took the timing of the presidential election into account when deciding to postpone sentencing for a second time.

“This case stands unique and occupies a unique place in the history of this nation, and this Court has handled it since its inception – from the indictment to the jury verdict and a host of motions and other matters in between,” he wrote. “Should this Court, after careful consideration of the Supreme Court's decision in Trump, decide that this case should proceed, it will face one of the most critical and difficult decisions a trial court judge must make – convicting a defendant found guilty by a unanimous jury of his colleagues.”

“This motion to adjourn has now been decided in the same manner as this Court has decided all other issues that have arisen since the inception of this case, applying the facts and the law after careful consideration of the issues and respective arguments of the parties to ensure that the integrity of the proceedings is protected, justice is done and the independence of this judiciary is preserved,” Merchan continued.

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The New York criminal trial was the first of four trials against Trump. In Florida, he is charged with handling classified documents. In Washington, DC, he was also charged with allegedly participating in a conspiracy to rig the 2020 presidential election. In Georgia, Trump is also charged with alleged election tampering.

All four criminal cases have been delayed as courts decide how to apply the Supreme Court's July 1 ruling to each case.

The decision to postpone the verdict in the Manhattan trial comes days after U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected Trump's request to transfer the hush money case to federal court.

Merchan was also scheduled to hear arguments on September 16 on Trump's attempt to overturn the May conviction in light of the Supreme Court's decision. That hearing must now wait until November 12.