New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan has indefinitely postponed sentencing in President-elect Donald Trump’s business records case, leaving uncertainty about the prosecution’s future and whether sentencing will take place.
Originally scheduled for July, the sentencing was first delayed to Nov. 26. However, on Nov. 22, Merchan agreed to grant a request to further delay the date.
Following Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, Merchan extended deadlines in the case until Nov. 19, when the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg expressed support for postponing the sentencing.
A letter dated Nov. 19 also showed that Trump’s legal team had requested the dismissal of the case. Merchan has set a deadline of Dec. 2 for Trump’s motion, with Bragg’s office expected to respond by Dec. 9.
This move came after Trump’s attorneys submitted a letter on Nov. 19 calling for the immediate dismissal of the case. They argued that the case should be dismissed due to the federal Constitution, the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, and the need for an orderly transition of power following Trump’s win in the 2024 election.
The letter was part of a series of legal actions and filings made since the election, which has complicated the federal cases against Trump and raised questions about the continuation of state-level cases once he assumes office.
In May, Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts, which raised the possibility of prison time. However, legal experts have pointed out that the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause could prevent Trump from serving a prison sentence.
On Nov. 19, Bragg’s office argued that no existing law requires the dismissal of a post-trial criminal proceeding due to a president’s temporary immunity from prosecution.
Trump’s attorneys, however, have cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States, which granted presidents certain levels of immunity, and they argue that this decision limits the evidence and witness testimony that could be used in the case.
In response to Trump’s immunity arguments in July, Bragg contended that Trump had waited too long to raise some of these immunity claims and that a federal judge had ruled that the actions in question fell outside the scope of a president’s official duties.
Trump’s Communications Director, Steven Cheung, praised Merchan’s decision on Nov. 22, calling it a “decisive win” for Trump.
“In a decisive win for President Trump, the hoax Manhattan Case is now fully stayed and sentencing is adjourned,” Cheung said. “President Trump won a landslide victory as the American people have issued a mandate to return him to office and dispose of all remnants of the Witch Hunt cases. All of the sham lawfare attacks against President Trump are now destroyed, and we are focused on Making America Great Again.”
