“Donald continues to dodge sentence for the 34 counts of which he was found guilty by a popular jury last May”observe The Country. “Judge Juan Merchan, in charge of the case, decided [vendredi] to postpone indefinitely the pronouncement of the sentence that he must impose on the president-elect”.
Donald Trump, re-elected to the presidency of the United States on November 5, was found criminally guilty in May of concealed payments to Stormy Daniels in the home stretch of the 2016 presidential campaign, to cover up an extramarital affair with the actress. X-rated movies.
The sentencing, “initially scheduled for July, had already been postponed twice, after the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity prompted Mr. Trump's lawyers to file a motion to overturn the conviction”specifies CNN.
“This move, along with other tactics, including the attempt to bring the case to federal court, had further delayed the proceedings and prompted Mr. Merchan to delay the decision on sentencing and the decision on immunity until after the November election”adds the American channel.
“Close the case definitively”
It remains unclear whether Judge Merchan will ultimately convict the president-elect before he takes office on January 20, “but the ordered Friday schedule potentially leaves” the door open to this possibility, notes the Washington Post – even if the judge's order does not mention a new date.
Because in addition to the cancellation of the sentencing scheduled for November 26, the magistrate “agreed to reconsider Trump's lawyers' request to permanently dismiss the case, based on the Supreme Court's recent ruling on presidential immunity and the election of the new president”specifies The Corriere della Sera.
He thus gave Donald Trump's defense until December 2 to present their arguments, and until December 9 to the prosecution to deliver their conclusions – theoretically giving him time to dictate his sentence before taking office. of the president.
More “it is clear that even for Merchan, the election result profoundly changed the direction of the procedure”analyzes the Italian daily.
Works of general interest
Donald Trump, who faces up to four years in prison, would more likely be sentenced to community service, which he would not be able to serve anyway before the end of his term in 2029. He will then be “an 83-year-old man in poor health”augurs the Milanese title, and imagine him performing TIG in these conditions “is a far-fetched perspective”.
Prosecutors themselves said Tuesday that they were “aware of the requirements and obligations of the presidency” and realize that Trump's return to the White House “would raise unprecedented legal questions”note The Daily Telegraph. Statements interpreted as capitulation by most observers.
For the New York PostJudge Merchan's decision will “very likely” allow the president-elect to “reenter the White House largely cleared of one of four criminal cases that had threatened to derail his campaign or even put him behind bars”.
And the three other cases targeting him, in Washington DC, Florida and Georgia, are “either pending or in the process of being classified”adds the conservative tabloid.
