Republican United States presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday celebrated a judge’s decision to postpone his sentencing in the New York hush money fraud case until after the November election.
Trump was convicted in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a scheme to silence porn star Stormy Daniels about an alleged sexual encounter prior to the 2016 election.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “The Manhattan D.A. Witch Hunt has been postponed because everyone realizes that there was NO CASE, I DID NOTHING WRONG!… This case should be rightfully terminated, as we prepare for the Most Important Election in the History of our Country.”
Judge Juan Merchan had originally scheduled Trump’s sentencing for September 18, just days before the Republican National Convention where he was set to be formally nominated as the 2024 GOP presidential nominee.
However, Trump’s lawyers requested the sentencing be delayed until after the November election, citing “naked election-interference objectives”.
Trump’s campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital: “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 has appealed the verdict and argued the case should be dismissed based on a recent Supreme Court ruling that a former president has substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office.
However, Judge Alvin Hellerstein previously ruled that Trump’s reimbursement to his lawyer Michael Cohen for hush money payments to Stormy Daniels were private, unofficial acts outside the bounds of executive authority.
The delay in sentencing comes as Trump faces other legal troubles, including an FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago estate last year and a Georgia investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Despite these challenges, Trump remains the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination and has vowed to continue his campaign for the presidency.
