Judge postpones Trump’s New York “hush money” sentencing

President-elect Donald Trump’s sentencing for his May criminal conviction has once again been delayed, a judge ruled Friday. 

It’s the third time sentencing has been pushed back since Trump was found guilty for his role in a coverup of a “hush money” payment.

Justice Juan Merchan gave Trump’s lawyers until Dec. 2 to file a motion seeking to dismiss the case outright. They’ve argued the case should be tossed because Trump was elected president. 

Merchan’s ruling ends months of speculation about when, if at all, Trump might learn his fate after the historic conviction in May.

Prosecutors for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said on Tuesday in a letter to Merchan that they did not oppose delaying sentencing — even until after Trump’s presidency — but added that they would fight any effort to dismiss the case. 

Trump’s attorneys said Tuesday night that the conviction should be set aside, and the case dismissed, because Trump was elected president. Moving forward with the case, they argued, would be unconstitutional.

In May, a jury of 12 unanimously made Trump the first former president in American history convicted of crimes. On Nov. 5, just under half of voters made Trump the first person in American history elected president after being convicted of crimes.

The jury concluded Trump had committed 34 felonies after signing off on a plan to hide reimbursements to Michael Cohen, his former attorney and fixer. The reimbursements were for a $130,000 payment Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. Both Cohen and Daniels have said he was paying for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. The payment has often been referred to as a “hush money” payment. 

Trump insists he is not guilty of falsifying business records — the charge he was convicted on — and has vehemently denied Daniels’ story.