Trump’s Nov. 26 Hush Money Sentencing Called Off, Court Says (1)

Donald Trump’s Nov. 26 sentencing in his New York hush money case was adjourned by the court as the judge weighs how to handle the prosecution in the wake of the former president’s reelection victory.

The sentencing was called off without explanation Tuesday in a short note by the court. The update on the court docket came on the same day that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg faces a deadline to give the court his recommendation on how the case should play out.

Whether Justice Juan Merchan decides the hush money case should proceed to sentencing, gets delayed for four years or is simply dismissed outright is an open question hanging over the president-elect. Trump’s attorney said in a letter to the court last week that there strong arguments for dismissal, while Bragg’s office said the jury’s verdict must also be considered.

Trump, who was bogged down by four prosecutions during his presidential campaign, bet big on the election result to pave the way for an end to his legal troubles. The US Justice Department is poised to drop his two federal cases and another state case in Georgia has been at a standstill while an appellate court reviews if the DA there should be disqualified because of her relationship with another prosecutor.

A New York jury in May found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to payments to an adult-film star ahead of the 2016 election. He denies wrongdoing.

Trump faces as many as four years in prison in the hush money case, although many experts predicted he would get far less time, or just probation, even before his election victory.

Merchan is also due to deliver a decision as soon as Tuesday on Trump’s pre-election request for a new trial, which he made following a landmark US Supreme Court decision in July on presidential immunity in criminal cases.

(Updates with details from the case starting in third paragraph.)

To contact the reporters on this story:
Patricia Hurtado in Federal Court in Manhattan at pathurtado@bloomberg.net;
Erik Larson in New York at elarson4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.net

Anthony Aarons

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