Trump's hush money sentencing delayed until after U.S. presidential election

A New York judge on Friday postponed former U.S. president Donald Trump's sentencing in the case involving hush money payments to a porn star, rescheduling it for Nov. 26—three weeks after the presidential election.

Trump, the Republican nominee, had requested that Justice Juan Merchan delay the sentencing until after the Nov. 5 election. Originally, Trump was set to be sentenced on Sept. 18, less than two months before the election.

In August, Trump's legal team argued that there wouldn't be enough time before sentencing to potentially appeal Merchan's upcoming ruling on their request to overturn the conviction, citing the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision on presidential immunity. Merchan had been scheduled to rule on the motion on Sept. 16.

The Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling, which pertained to a different criminal case Trump faces, determined that presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for their official acts and that such acts cannot be used as evidence in cases involving unofficial actions.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office argued that their case was based on Trump’s personal conduct, unrelated to his official duties, and thus there was no basis to overturn the conviction.

However, prosecutors did not take a stance on Trump's request to delay sentencing. In an Aug. 16 filing, they deferred to the judge, noting that an appellate court might delay sentencing to review Trump’s arguments, which they said could be "disruptive."