(NationRise.com) – Following the Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday, July 1, that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, former President Donald Trump has another reason to celebrate. Last week, the judge overseeing a criminal case involving Trump approved a delay of sentencing. The news comes after Trump’s lawyers requested more time to argue that the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, which indicates that Trump is immune from prosecution for actions considered “official” under his role as president, means that a new trial is necessary.
Trump was previously scheduled to be sentenced on July 11. The sentencing is now expected to take place on September 18 at the earliest, according to a letter shared by the court. The delay means that the former president will officially become the Republican Party’s nominee at the Republican National Convention before sentencing takes place. The party’s convention begins on July 15. While the sentencing delay doesn’t necessarily mean that he cannot be imprisoned before the nation goes to the polls in November, his official nomination could potentially sway the decision by the judge – assuming that a new trial does not go ahead.
Trump’s lawyers will likely argue that the conviction of the former President by a New York jury was illegitimate, citing immunity from the Supreme Court – but lawyers representing the prosecution will argue that Trump’s actions, with regards to the $130,000 hush money paid to adult star Stormy Daniels, do not constitute “official” acts as president.
In a letter sent to New York state Judge Juan Merchan last Monday, Trump’s lawyers argued that prosecutors in the New York trial had wrongly used evidence relating to official acts during the trial, which are now immunized. However, Merchan will now need to decide whether the evidence – including testimony from former Trump White House aide Hope Hicks describing a conversation she had with the president – will be off limits or not. If the judge finds that the evidence is inadmissible, it could reverse the conviction in the New York trial completely and mean that sentencing is not necessary at all.
Trump is facing a number of possible sentences, including delayed sentencing, a prison sentence, or a fine.
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