Trump’s sentencing in porn star case postponed until September

The sentencing of former US President Donald Trump (Republican) in the case of covering up payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election campaign has been postponed until September 18.

With the new date, the Republican will be sentenced in the case only after the Republican National Convention, which will be held on July 15-18, where Trump is expected to be formally nominated as the party’s presidential candidate in the November 5 elections.

The decision was made by Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the trial, after the Supreme Court granted a certain degree of immunity to the former president on Monday (1 July 2024).

The judge decided to wait to assess how the decision could affect Trump’s conviction, announced on May 30.

The sentencing, initially scheduled for July 11, was rescheduled for “September 18, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. [horário local]“if necessary, according to the judge’s statement to the Republican’s defense and the prosecution. The court document was obtained by MSNBC.

Trump’s hush money sentencing postponed until September.

Here is part of the filing signed by Judge Merchan pic.twitter.com/T9PPp2oXx5

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) July 2, 2024

Trump was convicted of falsifying business records related to covering up an alleged extramarital affair during the 2016 presidential campaign. He faces up to four years in prison, as little as a few weeks in jail or probation.

THE SUPREME COURT DECISION

On Monday (July 1), the United States Supreme Court ruled by a vote of 6 to 3 that the former president is entitled to limited presidential immunity in criminal proceedings.

The ruling states that Trump can claim this protection only if his actions are considered “official acts”carried out while he was president and not as an ordinary citizen. The precise definition will be determined by the lower courts.

According to the current US president and candidate for re-election, Joe Biden (Democrat), the decision that benefits Trump “undermines the rule of law” of the country. The two must re-edit the last electoral dispute.

“Now the American people must do what the courts should have been willing to do but have not done: the American people must render judgment on Donald Trump’s behavior.”Biden said.

UNDERSTAND THE JUDGMENT

The first criminal trial against the former US President began on April 15. Trump was indicted on March 30, 2023 by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The document contains 34 charges against Trump for “falsification of commercial records in the first degree”. Read the full text (PDF, in English – 121 kB).

The Republican was accused of manipulating internal records of his company, the Trump Organization, to cover up payments made to his lawyer, Michael Cohen, who acted in hiding an alleged extramarital affair between the former president and porn actress Stormy Daniels.

Cohen made a $130,000 payment to Daniels in October 2016. Later, while he was in the White House, Trump reimbursed Cohen in a series of installment payments processed through his own company. The move was reportedly intended to head off a potential sex scandal in the final weeks of his presidential campaign.

During the trial, Cohen claimed that the Republican approved the payment to the porn star. He also admitted stealing from the Trump Organization because he was unhappy about losing his annual bonus from the company after sending the $130,000 to Daniels. He also said he diverted $30,000 from the Trump Organization of a $50,000 payment that was supposed to be made to a technology company.