NEW YORK: Donald Trump’s lawyers on Monday asked the New York judge who presided over his hush money trial to set aside his conviction and delay his sentencing scheduled for later this month. The letter to Judge Juan M Merchan cited the US Supreme Court’s ruling earlier Monday and asked the judge to delay Trump’s sentencing while he weighs the high court’s decision and how it could influence the New York case, the people said.
The people could not discuss details of the letter before it was made public and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The Supreme Court on Monday ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution.
Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records, arising from what prosecutors said was an attempt to cover up a hush money payment just before the 2016 presidential election.
Merchan instituted a policy in the run-up to the trial requiring both sides to send him a one-page letter summarising their arguments before making longer court filings. He said he did that to better manage the docket, so he was not inundated with voluminous paperwork.