Published: 1:26am, 23 Nov 2024Updated: 1:54am, 23 Nov 2024
The judge in Donald Trump’s criminal hush money case ordered on Friday that sentencing be delayed indefinitely, a legal win for the US president-elect as he prepares to return to the White House.
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Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in May after a jury found he had fraudulently manipulated business records to cover up an alleged sexual encounter with a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.
Prosecutors argued that concealing the alleged tryst was intended to help him win his first run for the White House.
Trump, who had been scheduled to be sentenced on November 26, had fought against any effort to sentence him before his return to the presidency in January.
“It is … ordered that the joint application for a stay of sentencing is granted to the extent that the November 26, 2024 date is adjourned,” judge Juan Merchan said in an order.
Trump’s legal team have cited a Supreme Court ruling giving presidents sweeping immunity for official acts.