Sentencing in the Donald Trump hush-money case was postponed indefinitely on Friday, as the New York judge overseeing the case granted a motion for the President-elect’s legal team seeking more time to mount their argument for dismissal.
Judge Juan Merchan noted in a legal filing obtained by TheWrap that both the prosecution and defense requested the Nov. 26 date be vacated while both parties prepare. Merchan ordered Trump’s team to submit its dismissal request by Dec. 2, with a prosecution response due one week later; he suggested that a new date will be set once all the paperwork comes in.
Trump was convicted in May of 34 counts of fraud for falsifying business records. The jury’s decision on murky exchange of a 2016 hush-money payment allegedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels carried a sentence of up to 20 years, though most legal scholars agreed that the nature of the case likely precluded any actual jail time.
The Nov. 26 sentencing date was never expected to hold, after a flurry of legal filings and Trump’s re-election. Trump’s lawyers want the case fully and immediately dismissed, saying it will interfere with his presidential transition; prosecutors have suggested they are open to putting the case on hold while he still holds office.
