NEW YORK (AFP) – The judge in Donald Trump’s New York criminal case is expected to decide Tuesday whether the US President-elect will face sentencing, or escape punishment despite being convicted by a jury. Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in May after a jury found he had fraudulently manipulated business records to cover up an alleged sexual encounter with a porn star ahead of the 2016 election. Prosecutors argued that concealing the alleged tryst was intended to help him win his first run for the White House.
Trump, who had been scheduled to be sentenced on November 26, may receive a reprieve if Judge Juan Merchan decides to dismiss the case following the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity. That landmark ruling saw the court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, decide that presidents have sweeping immunity from prosecution for a range of official acts committed while in office. Ahead of the election, Trump’s lawyers moved to have the case thrown out in light of the Supreme Court decision, a move which prosecutors have firmly rejected.
If Merchan throws out the case on that basis, there will be no sentencing of Trump, 78. If he does not, Trump’s legal team would almost certainly seek to oppose or delay any sentencing, insisting it would interfere with Trump’s role as commander-in-chief once he is sworn in on January 20. “The stay and dismissal (of the case) are necessary to avoid unconstitutional impediments to President Trump’s abili.