The Manhattan prosecutor’s office said Tuesday it was open to delaying the July 11 sentencing of Donald Trump at his trial for concealed payments. The move comes a day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the former president’s presidential immunity was extended.
If Judge Juan Merchan, who will have the final say, decides to postpone the date of the sentence, this means that it will most likely fall after the Republican convention, scheduled for July 15-18 in Milwaukee, where Donald Trump is to be officially sworn in as presidential candidate.
Just hours after the Supreme Court’s decision, Donald Trump’s lawyers wrote to the judge on Monday asking to overturn the historic verdict of a jury that found the former US president guilty of 34 counts of false accounting related to the concealed payment of $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.
Here too, the judge will have the final say and he had already rejected appeals from the Trump camp which relied on his immunity as president between 2017 and 2021.
“Although we believe that the defendant’s arguments are unfounded, we do not oppose his request” to file the appeal and to an “adjournment of the sentencing.” The prosecution also indicated that it is requesting a deadline of July 24 to be able to file its counter-arguments to the defense’s appeal.
