Donald Trump urges NY judge to delay criminal sentencing until after November’s presidential election

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Former president Donald Trump has requested the New York judge presiding over his most recent criminal trial to postpone his sentencing until after November's presidential election. 

Judge Juan Merchan had already consented to postpone the trial until September in order for him to consider whether to overturn Trump's guilty conviction in light of the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity.

Donald Trump's attorneys penned a letter to the judge 

“[S]etting aside naked election-interference objectives, there is no valid countervailing reason for the Court to keep the current sentencing date on the calendar,” Trump's attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote in a letter to the judge. The letter was made public on Thursday, August 15. 

“There is no basis for continuing to rush,” the letter further noted, adding, “Accordingly, we respectfully request that any sentencing, if one is needed, be adjourned until after the Presidential election.” 

NY jury convicted Donald Trump on all 34 counts of falsifying business records 

A New York jury found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 counts of fabricating financial documents to cover up illegal activity that concealed materially false information from voters in May.

Alvin Bragg, the Democratic district attorney for Manhattan, alleged that Trump had concealed payments to his former fixer, Michael Cohen, after the latter had given porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about her alleged relationship with the former president shortly before the 2016 election.

Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to delay the hush money case

Donald Trump has made repeated attempts to postpone the trial of his hush money as well as three other criminal cases in order to focus on winning this year's presidential election and putting an end to his indictments once he regains the White House.

Donald Trump’s sentencing in New York was originally slated for July

Donald Trump's July sentencing in New York was postponed by the judge until September 18, following the Supreme Court's decision to grant previous presidents' official activities at least presumptive criminal immunity.

Although Trump does not request immunity from the actual hush money allegations, he does contend that the trial's prosecutors submitted tainted evidence, necessitating the overturning of the jury's decision. Two days prior to the sentencing, Juan Merchan is scheduled to make a decision on the case once the prosecution has retaliated.

According to the former president's legal team, the little interval is a "unreasonably short period of time," implying that if the judge rejects his claims of immunity, Trump will try to appeal right away.

“The requested adjournment is also necessary to allow President Trump adequate time to assess and pursue state and federal appellate options in response to adverse ruling,” the letter reads, according to The Hill. 

The letter also noted Juan Merchan’s third refusal to recuse from the case

Juan Merchan's third denial to step down from the case on Wednesday, August 14, was also mentioned in the letter. A state ethics advisory group's recommendations have been used by Trump's attorneys to attack the judge's daughter's job at a digital agency that serves well-known Democrats. Despite this, the judge has maintained that he has no conflict of interest.

“Notwithstanding the Court’s ruling on the disputed recusal issue, the requested adjournment would prospectively mitigate the asserted conflicts and appearances of impropriety, which are also the subject of an ongoing congressional inquiry,” Blanche and Bove wrote in the letter. 

Internet says 'Trump has to do his time in jail' despite all the efforts

Netizens mocked the Republican presidential nominee for pulling up all strings to evade jail time for his hush money scandal. One X user tweeted, "By running for president, Donald Trump is involved in Justice Interference. It’s either we have a country with laws or without laws. Trump has to do his time in jail."

Another added, "He sure does lose in court a lot." "Ok this makes sense. If he is sentenced the opposition will use it to campaign on," remarked one. A user wrote, "In actuality, he wants to delay criminal sentencing forever." 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.