LAST UPDATE | 6 Sep

A NEW YORK judge has delayed the sentencing former US President Donald Trump for his hush money conviction until after November’s election.

Trump’s legal team had requested the move in August and suggested that any decision would interfere with the election.

Judge Juan Merchan, who Trump’s lawyers unsuccessfully requested be removed from the case three times, was due to sentence the former President on 18 September.

In a ruling issued today, he adjourned the case until after the election. The new date was set for 26 November, weeks after the contest.

A jury convicted Trump in May of 34 felonies for falsifying business records to hide a payment meant to silence porn star Stormy Daniels about her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with him. 

He is the first ex-President convicted of a crime. Trump has pledged to appeal over the decision, but that cannot happen until he is sentenced.

Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years behind bars. Other potential sentences include probation, a fine or a conditional discharge which would require Trump to stay out of trouble to avoid additional punishment.

On 16 September, the judge will also consider a separate request by Trump’s lawyers to overturn the verdict and dismiss the case following a Supreme Court ruling in July on presidential immunity.

The Supreme Court’s immunity decision reins in prosecutions of ex-presidents for official acts and restricts prosecutors in pointing to official acts as evidence that a president’s unofficial actions were illegal.

Trump’s lawyers argue that in light of the ruling, jurors in the hush money case should not have heard such evidence as former White House staffers describing how the then-president reacted to news coverage of the Daniels deal.

Reacting to the judge’s decision, Trump claimed: “The Manhattan D.A. Witch Hunt has been postponed because everyone realizes that there was NO CASE, I DID NOTHING WRONG!… This case should be rightfully terminated, as we prepare for the Most Important Election in the History of our Country.” 

Includes reporting by Press Association and Jane Moore.