UPDATE: Reports indicate that the sentencing has been officially postponed, and will now not occur until at least September. This means that it won't happen before the GOP convention in mid-July where Trump will accept the nomination, so this is a clear win for the former president.
Breaking - Trump sentencing postponed, not happening July 11th, judge now set for September 18th, at the earliest.
— Laura Jarrett (@LauraAJarrett) July 2, 2024
🚨BREAKING: Judge Merchan has delayed President Trump’s sentencing in the Manhattan "hush money" case to September 18, 2024. pic.twitter.com/NKXtGRh2fs
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 2, 2024
Previously:
Monday’s major Supreme Court ruling that a president enjoys immunity for official acts is having multiple ramifications, and one of them is that Trump's legal team requested a delay in the scheduled July 11 sentencing on the former president's conviction on 34 counts of business fraud.
On Tuesday, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office wrote Judge Juan Merchan and said they do not oppose the request.
Here's the letter pic.twitter.com/RF6IhNd6x2
— Dee (@d33ness72) July 2, 2024
It’s now up to Merchan to decide whether to grant the delay, but Bragg asked for two weeks to respond:
“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 Joshua Steinglass responded in a letter filed Tuesday.
Trump’s sentencing is currently scheduled for July 11, just days before he is set to officially accept the Republican presidential nomination at the party’s convention the following week. But the prosecutors’ response raises a strong possibility it will be pushed for at least a few weeks.
The former president’s lawyers have asked for a July 10 deadline to file their written brief explaining their immunity arguments. Their schedule, if accepted, would likely necessitate a delay.
BREAKING: President Trump just received his sentencing from Alvin Bragg.
— Paul Ingrassia (@PaulIngrassia) July 2, 2024
Here’s what he got: 4 years at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
pic.twitter.com/ivjuoubJE0
Related: After Bombshell SCOTUS Ruling on Immunity, Trump Moves to Have Manhattan Convictions Tossed
If a two-week delay were granted, that would bring us to July 24—after the convention, which is scheduled to begin in Milwaukee on July 15.
Trump was convicted on 34 counts in Bragg’s politically motivated case, which used novel legal theories to assert the former president engaged in the shocking crime of mislabeling business expenses:
Trump was convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records for disguising reimbursements to his then-fixer, Michael Cohen. Cohen had paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election to stay quiet about an alleged affair with Trump, an affair he denies.
Unlike his three criminal cases that have not yet gone to trial, where Trump argues his actual charges must be tossed because of presidential immunity, he has not claimed immunity from the hush money charges themselves.
Bragg is a selective prosecutor who only files charges when he feels like it:
OUTRAGE: DA Bragg Drops Charges on Nearly All the Columbia Rioters Arrested
WATCH Manhattan DA Bragg's Provocative Reaction to Trump Conviction; He Thinks He's a Real Statesman
Between the immunity ruling, this possible delay in the Manhattan sentencing, and Biden’s terrible debate performance, it’s been a good late June/early July for Trump. He’s been active on social media lately, blasting Biden’s politicized Department of Justice:
A really bad day for Deranged Jack Smith, the wacko prosecutor used for Crooked Joe Biden’s attack on his Political Opponent. Today, as in the past, the Supreme Court gave the Deranged One a high level SPANKING! His “real” bosses, Andrew Weissmann and Lisa Monaco, not to mention Merrick Garland, whose once great reputation has been shattered by these Thugs, and his constant defense of Crooked Joe, must be furious at him. Garland ought to call an end to this never ending HOAX, and let people focus on bringing back Greatness to America!
If he is able to delay sentencing until after the convention, that would be a big win for him. The question would still remain, however—will Merchan sentence him to jail time?
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