Donald Trump's sentencing might get pushed beyond the 2024 election, according to a legal analyst, an outcome that would be a devastating loss for Democrat prosecutor Alvin Bragg.
The sentencing in Trump's "hush money" case is set for September 18, but the judge may decide to let Trump's immunity appeal play out first, former prosecutor Elie Honig wrote in The Intelligencer.
"If Judge Merchan chooses to let Trump appeal the immunity issue first, then we’re looking at months, and maybe more than a year, of delay before sentencing," Honig wrote.
The sentencing was initially set for July but was derailed by the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity, which held that presidents are immune to prosecution for their "official acts." The court also barred prosecutors from using "official acts" as evidence.
Trump has used the Supreme Court's ruling to challenge his conviction. Some of the evidence that Bragg used against Trump came from his time in office, including testimony that Bragg called "devastating" and "critical" to the case, Honig noted.
Judge Juan Merchan will rule on Trump's motion to dismiss the verdict just two days before sentencing. Bragg signaled last week that he is not opposed to Trump's request to delay the sentence pending his appeal of the immunity issue, which could go all the way to the Supreme Court.
A delayed sentencing could give Merchan an "off-ramp" to avoid confronting a politically explosive situation, Honig noted.
"He can rule in Trump’s favor, without opposition from the DA, and put off the whole hot mess until after the appeal and, in effect, until way after the election," Honig wrote.
If Trump's sentencing is delayed and he wins the presidency or eventually, his appeal, he may never face sentencing at all, Honig observed.
"If Judge Merchan does grant a postponement pending appeal, then Trump won’t face sentencing until (far) after the election — and, if he wins either that election or his appeal, perhaps ever," he wrote.
Honig was a skeptic of Bragg's prosecution, publishing a widely shared, devastating piece about how Bragg "contorted the law" to get the result he wanted.
Merchan has declined to recuse himself from the case, despite his daughter's past work for Kamala Harris, Trump's opponent in the election. Harris has cited Trump's conviction to attack him on the campaign trail.
Trump's lawyers have told Merchan a delayed sentence "would reduce, even if not eliminate, issues regarding the integrity of any future proceedings."
