Trump wants to postpone sentence for crimes until after the election

Former President Trump has requested that the New York judge overseeing his recent criminal trial postpone his sentencing until after November's presidential election. The judge, Juan Merchan, had already delayed the sentencing to September to consider whether a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity might impact Trump's guilty verdict.

In a letter made public on Thursday, Trump's attorneys, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, argued that there is no legitimate reason to keep the current sentencing date, aside from possible political motives. They emphasized that there is no need to rush and requested that any sentencing be delayed until after the election.

Trump was convicted in May on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal criminal activities, including payments made to silence damaging information during the 2016 presidential campaign. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accused Trump of hiding reimbursements to Michael Cohen, who paid $130,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Trump, which Trump denies.

Trump has consistently tried to delay this and other criminal cases against him, hoping to win the upcoming presidential election and halt the legal proceedings by regaining the presidency. Bragg's office has not commented on Trump's latest request.

The sentencing was initially set for July but was delayed to September 18 after the Supreme Court's decision on presidential immunity. Although Trump does not claim immunity from the charges themselves, he argues that the trial included improperly introduced evidence and that his verdict should be overturned. If the judge rules against him, Trump's lawyers argue that the short time between the ruling and sentencing does not allow adequate time to appeal.

The letter also mentioned the judge's refusal to recuse himself from the case, despite Trump's lawyers highlighting his daughter's employment at a digital agency working with prominent Democrats. The judge has denied any conflict of interest, following guidance from a state ethics group. Trump's attorneys argued that postponing the sentencing would help address concerns about potential conflicts and appearances of impropriety, which are also under congressional investigation.

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