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A New York judge has delayed Donald Trump’s sentencing until September as his lawyers seek to challenge his conviction after a Supreme Court ruling.
Trump was initially scheduled to be sentenced on 11 July.
His legal team asked for his conviction in a hush-money case to be overturned after the nation’s highest court ruled that former presidents had partial immunity for “official” acts during their presidency.
Justice Juan Merchan said on Tuesday that he would issue a decision on the motions by 6 September.
If sentencing is necessary, the judge wrote, it will take place on 18 September.
In May, a New York jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, making him the first former president ever convicted of a felony.
Prosecutors said Trump had reimbursed his fixer, Michael Cohen, for hush money paid to an adult film star, who claimed she had an affair with Trump. The money, paid on the eve of the 2016 election, was covered up by falsely labeling it as a legal expenses.
It is the first of Trump’s four criminal cases to go to trial.
On Monday, the Supreme Court released a bombshell ruling that found Trump – and other former presidents – had immunity from prosecution for “official acts”.
The challenge arose from a federal criminal case against Trump, who is accused of trying to overturn results of the 2020 election, but it could have ripple effects in several of his legal battles.
Seeking to leverage this legal victory, Trump’s lawyers in the New York case quickly sought to overturn the May conviction.
They said the Supreme Court case is relevant here, because some of the events and evidence at the heart of the case took place while Trump was in the White House.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted Trump, responded that Trump’s argument was “without merit” but asked for a deadline of 24 July to file a response.
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