Judge Merchan delayed the decision on hush money case until November 19th
NY judge grants Trump's request to pause court deadlines, sentencing, in a victory for president-elect
The Manhattan judge overseeing President-elect Donald Trump's trial agreed to grant a stay on all deadlines associated with the felony conviction proceedings against President-elect Donald Trump in the final months before he takes office, a closely-watched decision that allows Trump to avoid a maximum sentence of up to four years in prison.
The judge overseeing the case, Judge Juan Merchan, granted the request, which issues a stay on all deadlines, including the Nov. 26 sentencing date, to consider the effect of his election as president.
Trump's team had also filed a motion to vacate the charges.
Trump was convicted in May by a Manhattan jury on 34 counts of falsifying business records, stemming from a case about payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Merchan agreed earlier this year to a four-month delay for the court proceedings, pushing next steps until after the 2024 presidential election.
He had set Nov. 12 as a self-imposed deadline to decide how best to proceed.
The decision comes after the Supreme Court said in a July 1 ruling that presidents should be granted a certain level of immunity in court convictions.
Justices writing for 4-3 majority said that presidents are entitled to absolute immunity from any actions taken within the scope of "core constitutional powers" as commander-in-chief.
A certain level of immunity also applies to other actions taken while holding office, they said.
The Nov. 12 deadline is separate from the sentencing hearing for the 34 convictions, which had previously been set for Nov. 26.
Rather, this was a self-imposed deadline set by Merchan that allows him to consider Trump’s claims of presidential immunity, and whether the Supreme Court’s July ruling on the scope of immunity should apply to the state level.
Even if Trump’s convictions were upheld, the president-elect has myriad ways to appeal the case or get the charges against him dismissed before the Nov. 26 sentencing hearing—making it all but certain he will face no time behind bars.
The first would be moving the case from state to federal court — which Trump’s lawyers had twice tried and failed to do in the months ahead of the election. But their request to elevate the case to federal court now carries more weight, given Trump’s status as president-elect.
If that fails, Trump’s attorneys would likely appeal the convictions ahead of his sentencing hearing; using the Supreme Court immunity ruling as grounds to have the charges dismissed.
They are also likely to use the immunity claim to throw out portions of evidence used by prosecutors in the New York case, including testimony from former White House communications director Hope Hicks.
Even if all this fails, legal analysts and former prosecutors have roundly dismissed the idea that Trump would face prison time for the convictions.
"Understand, Trump is not going to prison even if Merchan metes out an incarceration sentence. Though the charges are felonies, they are not sufficiently serious under New York law to merit immediate detention; Trump will get bail pending appeal," Andrew McCarthy, a former U.S. prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, wrote in an op-ed last week for Fox News Digital.
Had Merchan moved to keep the convictions intact, he could have sought additional guidance from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, including on whether Trump should be submitted to state convictions as a sitting president—a question that has never been tested.
SAUCE: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-new-york-convictions-ruling-issued?intcmp=tw_fnc
*JOHNSON: DON'T EXPECT MORE HOUSE MEMBERS WILL LEAVE FOR TRUMP
https://x.com/zerohedge/status/1856358501632675841
The man accused of killing Laken Riley waives his right to trial by jury. The nursing student was killed while jogging near the University of Georgia.
https://x.com/CNN/status/1856364752949453214
NEW - Nuclear watchdog chief says room to manoeuvre on Iran 'shrinking'
https://x.com/TheInsiderPaper/status/1856363826524107019
BREAKING - US calls on Haiti leaders to move on from 'competing personal interests'
https://x.com/TheInsiderPaper/status/1856379932198457547
JUST IN - Trump to address House Republican Conference during Capitol visit tomorrow - reports
https://x.com/TheInsiderPaper/status/1856379850740875504
US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES LIVE STREAM
The US House of Representatives is in session, they just came back from a month long break and this is the first day after the election that the US House of Representatives has been in session.
CAN'T EMBED STREAM DUE TO IT BEING A NON-YOUTUBE LINK
https://live.house.gov/
Morning Hour Debate right now
Morning Hour Dabate just ended
In recess until 2pm
I'm paying attention cause I want to hear the reeeeee from the commies.
JUST IN: CNN 'will ax top stars in layoffs that'll see hundreds fired as ratings continue to tank' - Daily Mail
https://x.com/TheInsiderPaper/status/1856387456506933314