Trump’s Attorneys Ask To Delay Hush Money Sentencing, Move To Throw Out Conviction

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump asked a judge to postpone sentencing in his Manhattan hush money trial, the first step in their effort to throw out the verdict following a Supreme Court ruling that granted him broad immunity from prosecution on Monday.

Trump’s attorneys wrote a letter to Judge Juan Merchan, who has overseen the hush money case, asking for permission to file a motion to set aside the verdict, The New York Times first reported. In the missive, they asked Merchan to postpone the former president’s sentencing on July 11 while he considers whether the recent high court ruling impacts Trump’s conviction.

The former president was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up allegations of a sexual encounter with the porn star Stormy Daniels in May. The Supreme Court ruled Monday, however, that as president, Trump enjoyed wide immunity for any presidential act that was “official” in nature.

The gambit by Trump’s attorneys may be far-fetched as the ruling only protects a president’s actions while in office, not while they are a candidate, like when those acts central to the hush money trial took place. The Times notes it may also be too late for Merchan to revisit the conviction as a deadline to file post-trial motions has already passed. The judge could inform Trump’s lawyers to air their concerns when they file an eventual appeal. 

Still, the former president will likely argue that prosecutors relied on some evidence from Trump’s time in the White House, which would be barred under the Supreme Court decision.

The letter will not be made public until Tuesday at the earliest. Prosecutors in the case will file their own response with the judge afterward.

Trump’s sentencing will be a highly watched moment in political history and comes amid his ongoing campaign for the presidency. While he faces up to four years in prison, Merchan has wide latitude in sentencing guidelines and could order probation or home confinement instead.

The Supreme Court decision is all but certain to push any trials in Trump’s other indictments far beyond the November election as lower courts consider how it impacts the proceedings. If Trump wins reelection, he will almost certainly direct the Justice Department to dismiss the charges against him.