NIn a letter made public today, lawyers for the former president and current Republican candidate for president of the United States of America (USA) suggested that the reading of Trump’s sentence, scheduled for September 18 — seven weeks before the elections — would amount to electoral interference.
On May 31, Trump became the first former president to be convicted in New York for falsifying documents during the 2016 campaign to cover up an affair with pornographic actress Stormy Daniels.
The mogul’s lawyers wrote that a delay would also give the former president time to consider his next steps after the trial judge, Juan M. Merchan, is scheduled to rule on Sept. 16 on the defense’s motion to vacate the verdict and dismiss the case because of the Supreme Court’s July ruling that Trump enjoyed partial immunity because he served as president.
“There is no basis for continuing to rush,” Trump’s lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove said, as quoted by the Associated Press news agency.
The lawyers sent the letter to Merchan on Wednesday after the judge rejected the defense’s latest request to step aside from the case.
In the letter, Blanche and Bove reiterated the defense’s argument that the judge has a conflict of interest because his daughter works as a Democratic political consultant, including for Kamala Harris when she sought the 2020 presidential nomination, and is now running against Trump.
By postponing sentencing until after the election, “the court would reduce, if not eliminate, questions regarding the integrity of any future proceedings,” the lawyers wrote.
The presidential election is on November 5, but many states are allowing voters to cast ballots early, with some ready to begin the process just days before or after Trump’s scheduled sentencing date on September 18.
Judge Merchan, who said he was confident in his ability to remain fair and impartial, did not immediately rule on the request for a delay.
Trump was convicted in May of falsifying his company’s records to conceal a 2016 deal to bribe porn actress Stormy Daniels to remain silent about a 2006 sexual encounter.
Prosecutors said the payment was part of a Trump-led effort to keep voters from hearing salacious stories about the Republican candidate during his first campaign.
Donald Trump said all the stories were false, that the business records were not, and that the case was a political ploy designed to hurt his current campaign, since Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is a Democrat.
Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years in prison, and other potential sentences include probation, a fine or conditional discharge.
Read Also: Donald Trump Loses Third Attempt to Remove Judge from His Trial
Download our free App.
Eighth consecutive year Consumer Choice for Online Press and elected product of the year 2024.
* Study by Netsonda, Nov. and Dec. 2023 productoftheyear- pt.com
Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2615973/trump-pede-adiamento-de-sentenca-em-nova-iorque-para-depois-das-eleicoes
