Judge Juan Merchan has delayed former President Donald Trump's sentencing hearing until after the November election. The hearing was previously scheduled for Sept. 18.
Merchan has moved the date of the sentencing to Nov. 26.
This is the second time the sentencing has been delayed. Trump was originally scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, but the court delayed that two months following a Supreme Court ruling that provided some immunity for presidents for official acts while in office.
In May, a jury found Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in his New York criminal hush money trial, making him the first American president to be convicted of a crime. During the six-week trial, prosecutors argued Trump falsified the records to conceal damaging stories, including an alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels, ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
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Merchan recognized the timing of the presidential election in his decision to postpone sentencing for a second time.
"This matter is one that stands alone, in a unique place in this Nation’s history, and this Court has presided over it since its inception — from arraignment to jury verdict and a plenitude of motions and other matters in-between," he wrote. "Were this Court to decide, after careful consideration of the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump, that this case should proceed, it will be faced with one of the most critical and difficult decisions a trial court judge faces — the sentencing of a defendant found guilty of crimes by a unanimous jury of his peers."
"This adjournment request has now been decided in the same way this Court has decided every other issue that has arisen since the origination of this case, applying the facts and the law after carefully considering the issues and respective arguments of the parties to ensure that the integrity of the proceeding is protected, justice is served, and the independence of this judiciary is kept firmly intact," Merchan continued.
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The New York criminal trial was the first of four for Trump. He faces federal charges in Florida for his handling of classified documents. He was also indicted in Washington, D.C., for allegedly engaging in a conspiracy to subvert the 2020 presidential election. In Georgia, Trump also faces charges for allegedly interfering with the election.
All four of his criminal cases have faced delays as the courts must decide how to apply the July 1 Supreme Court ruling to each respective case.
The decision to push back sentencing in the Manhattan trial comes days after U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected Trump's bid to move the hush money case to the federal court system.
Merchan was also expected to hear arguments on Sept. 16 on Trump's bid to throw out the May conviction in light of the Supreme Court's decision. That hearing will now have to wait until Nov. 12.
