Court delays Trump's sentencing in 'hush money' case until after election

Sentencing for Donald Trump in his New York "hush money" trial has been delayed until after November's election as he battles Democrat Kamala Harris in the knife-edge White House race.

The former US president was scheduled to be sentenced on September 18 for falsifying business records in a scheme to silence an adult movie star's politically damaging story.

But Judge Juan Merchan on Friday postponed it to November 26 — three weeks past the November 5 election, as requested by Trump's lawyers.

"This is not a decision this Court makes lightly but it is the decision which in this Court's view, best advances the interests of justice," he wrote in his decision.

The postponement comes as Trump and Harris prepare to face off on the debate stage next Tuesday in the already extraordinary presidential race.

Trump welcomed the sentencing delay, taking to his Truth Social platform to blast the case as a "witch hunt."

"This case should be rightfully terminated," he added, "as we prepare for the Most Important Election in the History of our Country."

'Politically prejudicial'

Trump, 78, was convicted in May of 34 counts of doctoring business records to cover up 'hush money' payments to adult star Stormy Daniels to stop her from disclosing an alleged intimate encounter on the eve of the 2016 election.

The twice-impeached ex-president was originally scheduled to be sentenced on July 11.

However, that was delayed after the US Supreme Court ruled that a former president has broad immunity from criminal prosecutions.

Trump's lawyers asked that his New York conviction be dismissed following the Supreme Court immunity ruling. Judge Merchan said he would rule on the dismissal motion November 12.

Merchan noted Trump had asked for sentencing to be delayed "to avoid the potential 'politically prejudicial' impact that a public sentencing could have on him and his prospects in the upcoming election."

"This is not the kind of publicity you like," Trump acknowledged from the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, even as he spent an hour, unprompted, reminding voters of his legal travails.

'Political interference'

Trump's detailed remarks on the cases were surprising, given that he needs to win over groups like suburban women in the tight race against Harris, 59, who is aiming to become the nation's first female president.

The legal drama unfolded on the day the first mail-in ballots of the election had been due to be distributed.

The battleground state of North Carolina was scheduled to mail out around 130,000 absentee voting slips, marking the symbolic start of a nationwide process which during the bitter 2020 election saw 155 million Americans cast ballots.

However, a state appeals court halted the process after a last-minute lawsuit by independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who is seeking to have his name removed from ballots.

The fringe candidate from America's most famous political family has dropped out and endorsed Trump.

North Carolina is among a handful of swing states Harris and Trump have been crisscrossing as they enter the most intense phase of an election that's expected to go down to the wire.

Other states will soon follow in mailing out ballots, and early in-person voting begins across 47 states as soon as September 20.

Harris for her part spoke to a Univision radio station, telling listeners "we need to turn the page on this Trump era."

Her team announced Friday it raised $361 million in August, the largest monthly haul of the cycle and nearly triple Trump's figure.

Polls in the crucial swing states, which decide the balance of power in US Electoral College system, show Harris up just 0.2 percent overall, in what most experts say is a statistical dead heat.