The ongoing legal drama surrounding former President Donald Trump has once again changed the political landscape.
The New York case has been thrown into confusion because of the recent Supreme Court ruling that caused some constitutional rules regarding immunity to be interpreted in a way that could shield the president, as was referenced in a report by Breitbart News.
Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the trial of former President Donald Trump regarding his business records, has postponed the former president's sentencing until September.
From the Letter
Merchan stated in a letter sent out on Tuesday that Trump's July 11 sentence date had been "vacated" and rescheduled until September 18, 2024.
This came about as a result of Trump's legal team filing a letter to Merchan in which they requested that the guilty conviction handed down by a jury in Manhattan on May 30 be overturned in light of the Supreme Court's decision regarding presidential immunity.
“The July 11, 2024, sentencing date is therefore vacated,” Merchan wrote. “The Court’s decision will be tendered off-calendar on September 6, 2024 and the matter is adjourned to September 18, 2024, at 10:00 AM for the imposition of sentence, if such is still necessary, or other proceedings.”
News: Judge Merchan officially vacates Trump's scheduled July 11 sentencing until September 18 "for the imposition of sentence, if such is still necessary."https://t.co/Qq6pYuBkNL
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) July 2, 2024
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Trump has been staring down the barrel of the possibility of jail time following his conviction in the state of New York.
A sentence was supposed to be handed down to Trump on July 11, which was four days before the Republican National Convention, which was going to take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15.
The jury trial ended in a decision where a jury found that during the 2016 presidential election, the former president committed 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. These charges were related to payments that were made to Stormy Daniels, an adult entertainment actress.
However, more than a month later, the Supreme Court, with a vote count of 6-3, said that presidents are afforded a limited immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts that they carry out while operating in office. They do not enjoy immunity for acts that are not official.
The Supreme Court said in its ruling:
Under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority. And he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts.
In response to the request made by Trump's legal team to have the guilty verdict overturned in light of the decision made by the Supreme Court, the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg disclosed that they were not opposed to the idea of delaying the sentencing of Trump.
