Trump's ruling in New York case postponed until after US elections

The verdict against Donald Trump in his New York hush money trial was postponed on Friday until after the November election – a victory for the Republican in his contested race for the White House against Kamala Harris.

The former US president was due to be sentenced on September 18 for falsifying business records in an attempt to silence a porn star's politically damaging story, AFP reported.

But Judge Juan Merchan postponed the decision until November 26 – three weeks after the November 5 election, as requested by Trump's lawyers.

“This decision is not one this Court makes lightly, but it is the decision the Court believes best advances the interests of justice,” he wrote.

The postponement comes as Trump and Democrat Harris prepare to face off on the debate stage next Tuesday in what is already an extraordinary presidential campaign.

Trump welcomed the delay in the verdict and described the case as a “witch hunt” on his Truth Social platform.

“This case should rightly be discontinued,” he added.

“Politically biased”

Trump, 78, was found guilty in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels to prevent her from disclosing an alleged sexual encounter before the 2016 election.

The verdict for the twice-impeached former president was originally scheduled for July 11.

This move was postponed after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a former president enjoys broad immunity from criminal prosecution.

Trump's lawyers asked that his conviction in New York be overturned following the Supreme Court's immunity ruling. Merchan said he would rule on the overturning request on Nov. 12.

Merchan noted that Trump asked for the verdict to be delayed “to avoid the potentially 'politically detrimental' impact that a public verdict could have on him and his prospects in the upcoming election.”

A few hours earlier in New York, Trump had made rambling remarks about his myriad legal problems and denied allegations by several women of sexual harassment or assault.

“This is not the kind of publicity you like,” Trump acknowledged at Trump Tower as he spent an hour unpromptedly reminding voters of allegations of sexual harassment by several women, including writer E. Jean Carroll.

'Interference'

Trump's detailed remarks on the cases were surprising given that he is facing a tight race against 59-year-old Harris, who is seeking to become the nation's first female president, where he must win over groups such as suburban women.

Trump appeared in court in New York on Friday over the Carroll case. He was ordered to pay her $5 million in damages for sexual assault and defamation.

“I never met her. I never touched her,” Trump said, describing the case as “political interference.”

The legal drama took place on the day the first mail-in ballots were to be distributed.

The swing state of North Carolina was scheduled to send out around 130,000 mail-in ballots, marking the symbolic beginning of a nationwide process in which 155 million Americans cast their votes in the bitter 2020 election.

However, a state appeals court halted the proceedings after independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed a last-minute lawsuit seeking to have his name removed from the ballot.

The fringe candidate from America's most famous political family has dropped out and is supporting Trump.

Other states will also soon be sending ballots by mail, and in 47 states, early in-person voting can begin as early as September 20.

Later Friday, Trump traveled on to North Carolina, where the convicted felon received the backing of the country's largest police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, and promised to bring “law and order” back to the country.

“Kamala Harris and the communist left have brought a brutal plague of bloodshed, crime, chaos, misery and death upon our country,” he warned, falsely claiming that crime in the United States had skyrocketed.

Harris, for her part, spoke to Univision radio and told listeners: “We have to close the chapter of this Trump era.”

On Friday, she received important support from former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, who said: “There has never been a man who poses a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.”

His daughter Liz Cheney, a conservative former congresswoman, publicly endorsed Harris this week, joining hundreds of other Republicans who, like her father, are putting “country above party,” said Harris' campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon.

Harris' entry into the campaign six weeks ago fueled enthusiasm among Democrats who had previously been discouraged about President Joe Biden's ability to defeat Trump.

Her team announced Friday that it raised $361 million in August, the highest monthly haul of the cycle and nearly triple Trump's amount.