Judge Merchan Hands Donald Trump Big Legal Win in New York Case

Judge Juan Merchan handed former President Donald Trump a big legal win on Friday, postponing the sentencing for his New York conviction until after the 2024 presidential election.
Merchan announced in a four-page decision that sentencing would now be on November 26, not September 18 as previously scheduled. The 2024 election will be held on November 5.
“This matter is one that stands alone, in a unique place in this Nation’s history, and this Court has presided over it since its inception,” Merchan wrote. He said that if the conviction ultimately stands, the Court would be “faced with one of the most critical and difficult decisions a trial court judge faces—the sentencing of a defendant found guilty of crimes by a unanimous jury of his peers.”
Merchan described the time leading up to the November 5 presidential election as a “unique moment.”
“We are now at a place in time that is fraught with complexities rendering the requirements of a sentencing hearing, should one be necessary, difficult to execute,” he wrote.
“This is not a decision this court makes lightly but it is the decision which in this court’s view, best advances the interests of justice,” the judge wrote.
Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, was tried in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to former adult film actor Stormy Daniels (real name Stephanie Clifford) ahead of the 2016 presidential election. On May 30, a jury convicted him on all 34 counts.
“There should be no sentencing in the Manhattan DA’s Election Interference Witch Hunt. As mandated by the United States Supreme Court, this case, along with all of the other Harris-Biden Hoaxes, should be dismissed.” Trump’s spokesperson Steven Cheung told Newsweek after the decision was handed down on Friday.
The Supreme Court ruled in a landmark July 1 decision that president’s enjoy broad immunity for their official acts while in office. However, prosecutors contend that the New York case is not impacted by this decision, saying that Trump undertook his actions related to the case in his capacity as a private citizen.
The former president has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. He and his supporters have argued that the legal case in New York and all other prosecutions and legal actions against him are politically motivated. They say that these cases are an effort spearheaded by Democrats to undermine his presidential campaign.
“The Manhattan D.A. Witch Hunt has been postponed because everyone realizes that there was NO CASE, I DID NOTHING WRONG!” Trump posted to his social media platform Truth Social on Friday afternoon. “It is a political attack against me by Comrade Kamala Harris and other Radical Left Opponents for purposes of Election Interference, and is a case that should have never been brought.”
“There is no good reason to postpone Trump’s sentencing any further. He won’t be sent straight to prison and will be allowed to appeal the ruling right away, so there is no threat of irreparable harm,” Dave Aronberg, the State Attorney for Palm Beach County, told Newsweek in a Friday email before Merchan’s decision.
“Trump can still appeal the decision like any other defendant. At some point, equal justice under the law has to mean something,” Aronberg said.
Trump could face up to four years in prison when he is sentenced. However, many legal experts believe the judge is more likely to sentence Trump to probation or a shorter jail sentence. Jailing a former president would create significant logistical challenges, as he is entitled to Secret Service protection for the rest of his life.
“Once Trump is no longer a candidate for office AND has lost the election, it will make it a million times easier for Judge Merchan to sentence him to prison,” former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirshner, an MSNBC legal analyst and staunch Trump critic, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after Merchan’s decision came down.
On August 29, Trump’s legal team sought to move the sentencing in the hush money case to federal court based on the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling. Federal judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected the request on Tuesday. It was the second time that Hellerstein rejected Trump’s transfer request.
The judgment read: “Nothing in the Supreme Court’s opinion affects my previous conclusion that the hush money payments were private, unofficial acts, outside the bounds of executive authority.”
Update 9/6/24, 1:31 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and a new headline.
Update 9/6/24, 1:37 p.m. ET: A statement from Trump’s spokesperson was added.
Update 9/6/24, 2:08 p.m. ET: Additional background information was added.
Update 9/6/24, 2:36 p.m. ET: Comment from Glenn Kirschner was added.
Update 9/6/24, 2:50 p.m. ET: A Truth Social post from Trump was added.
Update 9/6/24, 3:41 p.m. ET: Additional information was added.