Donald Trump’s conviction in his hush-money trial has resulted in an indefinite cancellation of his sentencing.
Trump’s request for a stay of sentencing was granted by Supreme Court of the State of New York Judge Juan Merchan on Friday. This means that the president-elect will not be prosecuted for his single criminal conviction on 34 felony counts anytime soon.
X screen grab Cheney, Kyle @kyledcheney BREAK: It’s official. Trump’s New York sentencing has been postponed indefinitely. (with a screenshot of Judge Merchan’s order)
Following the Supreme Court’s judgment on presidential immunity, Trump has maintained that the entire lawsuit ought to be dismissed, and this finding is a step in that direction. However, the Manhattan district attorney’s office appears to be waiting out the president-elect’s four-year term before reexamining sentencing, and Merchan has made no mention of expunging his felony convictions.
Trump was charged with paying Stormy Daniels $130,000 in hush money to conceal their romance prior to the 2016 election through his then-fixer, Michael Cohen. In May, the president-elect was found guilty by a jury, marking the first and only instance in which a previous president was successfully charged with a crime.
Trump has previously been charged with three additional offenses: mishandling secret documents, a federal election meddling case involving January 6, and election tampering in Georgia. However, since his plan to postpone his lawsuits and win the election was nearly flawless, they are all irrelevant until the end of his second term as president.