Judge delays key ruling on fate of Trump hush money conviction

Judge delays key ruling on fate of Trump hush money conviction


In this courtroom sketch, former U.S. president Donald Trump appears by video conferencing before Judge Juan Merchan during a hearing before his trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, May 23, 2023.

Jane Rosenberg | Reuters

A New York judge on Tuesday delayed by one week ruling on whether to toss guilty verdicts against President-elect Donald Trump in his criminal hush money case, or to move toward sentencing in late November.

The postponement was announced two days after the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office asked the judge for time to consider how Trump’s electoral win affects the case.

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan, who was set to issue his ruling Tuesday, is now scheduled to determine if the case should be dismissed on Nov. 19.

Trump is currently set to be sentenced Nov. 26 on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made by his former lawyer Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election.

Read more CNBC politics coverage

Trump’s lawyers asked to dismiss the case and vacate the jury verdict in July, following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that greatly expanded the scope of presidential immunity.

DA Alvin Bragg had urged Merchan to reject that request, arguing that the high court’s ruling — which granted presumptive immunity to former presidents for all official acts in office — had no bearing on Trump’s conviction in the hush money case.

On Friday — three days after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race — defense lawyers had asked Bragg’s office to agree to a pause on all proceedings in the case.

The DA’s office signed on.

“The People agree that these are unprecedented circumstances,” DA prosecutor Matthew Colangelo wrote Sunday in an email to Merchan that was shared in a public court filing Tuesday morning.

The defense lawyers’ arguments “require careful consideration to ensure that any further steps in this proceeding appropriately balance the competing interests of (1) a jury verdict of guilt following trial that has the presumption of regularity; and (2) the Office of the President,” Colangelo wrote.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.



Source

Sen. Thom Tillis says he won’t seek re-election after opposing Trump megabill
Politics

Sen. Thom Tillis says he won’t seek re-election after opposing Trump megabill

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., speaks to reporters as he leaves the Senate floor in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, March 13, 2025. Bill Clark | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, N.C., will not run for re-election when his term is up, he announced Sunday, hours after he voted against advancing […]

Read More
Trump says Mamdani must ‘do the right thing’ if elected mayor of New York City — or risk losing funding
Politics

Trump says Mamdani must ‘do the right thing’ if elected mayor of New York City — or risk losing funding

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner (not pictured) and Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe (not pictured) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington D.C., June 27, 2025. Ken Cedeno | Reuters President Donald Trump said that Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani […]

Read More
Trump calls for a deal on the Gaza war as signs of progress emerge
Politics

Trump calls for a deal on the Gaza war as signs of progress emerge

A general view of destruction in North Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, on May 17, 2025. Amir Cohen | Reuters TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday pleaded for progress in ceasefire talks in the war in Gaza, calling for a deal that would halt the fighting […]

Read More