NEW YORK: The judge in Donald Trump’s New York criminal case has postponed a decision on whether to overturn the US president-elect’s conviction on presidential immunity grounds.
The judge has set November 19 as the new date for the decision, the court said on Tuesday.
Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts in May after a jury found he had fraudulently manipulated business records to influence the 2016 election.
Due to be sentenced on November 26, Trump could receive a reprieve if Judge Juan Merchan decides to dismiss the case in light of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity.
That landmark ruling, with a 6-3 conservative majority, concluded that presidents have sweeping immunity from prosecution for a range of official acts committed while in office.
Ahead of the election, Trump’s lawyers filed a motion to have the case thrown out in light of the Supreme Court decision, a request that prosecutors have firmly rejected.
If Judge Merchan dismisses the case, there will be no sentencing for Trump, 78. However, if he does not, Trump’s legal team would almost certainly seek to delay or oppose any sentencing, arguing that it would interfere with Trump’s role as commander-in-chief once he is sworn in on January 20.
“The joint application for a stay of the current deadlines… until November 19, is granted,” the court wrote in an email to the parties in the case, as seen by AFP.
An editorial in the Kansas City Star newspaper called for the judge in the case to “do what was once unthinkable – force a president-elect to take the oath of office in a jail cell.”
“The surreal scene, while certainly shocking for the rest of the free world to witness, would send an unmistakable message: the rule of law still applies in America.”
However, Trump’s former attorney general Bill Barr argued that both the New York case and other cases against Trump across the country were “plainly brought for political purposes” and have already been “extensively aired and rejected in the court of public opinion.”
“Further manoeuvring on these cases in the weeks ahead would serve no legitimate purpose and only distract the country and the incoming administration from the task at hand,” Barr wrote.
Trump has repeatedly denounced the case as a “witch hunt,” asserting that it “should be rightfully terminated.”
Alongside the New York case, brought by state prosecutors, Trump is facing two active federal cases: one related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the other concerning classified documents he allegedly mishandled after leaving office.
As president, Trump would have the authority to intervene in those cases, and special counsel Jack Smith, who is handling both, has reportedly begun winding them down.
A Trump-appointed federal judge already dismissed the documents case, but Smith sought to appeal that decision.
“Trump’s victory means he is unlikely to be held accountable for any of his alleged criminal misconduct,” former prosecutor Randall Eliason wrote on Substack. “That’s a severe blow to the ideal of the rule of law.”
The New York conviction, which came just months before the election, was one of several dramatic developments in the race for the White House. In July, Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania when a bullet grazed his ear.
Later that month, President Joe Biden stepped aside as the Democratic Party’s candidate after a disastrous performance against Trump in a televised debate. That opened the door for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the first woman of colour from a major US party to run for president. – AFP
