Judge delays Trump hush money sentencing until after Election Day

Donald Trump will not be sentenced in his hush money case until after the presidential election in November, as the judge overseeing the criminal case against the former president moved his imminent court date to avoid the appearance of political interference in the crucial weeks before Election Day.

Trump, the first president to be convicted of a crime, will not face Justice Juan Merchan in a Manhattan courtroom until November 26, nearly six months after a unanimous jury found him guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to corruptly influence the 2016 election.

Judge Merchan’s decision on Friday marks a significant victory for the Republican presidential nominee, who is also pushing the judge to toss his conviction as he campaigns on a narrative of political persecution and retribution against a justice system he accuses of conspiring against him.

The judge had already delayed Trump’s sentencing to September 18 after initially scheduling Trump’s date in court for July 11.

He agreed to Trump’s first request to push back the hearing while he considered his arguments to toss the jury’s verdict in the wake of the Supreme Court’s “immunity” decision, which determined that presidents can be shielded from some criminal prosecution for official acts carried out while in office.

The judge has also paused a decision on that motion, which was expected this month, until November 12.

A sentencing hearing — if one is “necessary” after Merchan’s decision on Trump’s immunity claims — will follow on November 26. Election Day is November 5.

In their request to delay his sentencing until after November’s election, Trump’s attorneys accused the court and prosecutors of “election interference” and