Judge Merchan Decision Holds Off Supreme Court

Judge Juan Merchan’s recent decision to delay sentencing in Donald Trump’s New York criminal case effectively keeps the matter out of the Supreme Court before November’s election, according to a legal analyst.
Andrew Weissmann told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki that when setting the sentencing date, Merchan first needed to decide whether the case was influenced by the recent Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
On July 1, the court ruled that presidents enjoy broad immunity for their official acts while in office. Trump’s legal team had raised concerns about the former president’s ability to appeal a potential immunity ruling before sentencing. However, prosecutors contended that the New York case was not affected by the Supreme Court decision, as Trump undertook his actions related to the case in his capacity as a private citizen.
In May, following Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records, Merchan scheduled the former president’s sentencing for July 11. He later postponed it to September 18.
On Friday, Merchan further delayed the sentencing, scheduling it and his decision on Trump’s immunity for November. If Merchan had kept the September date and ruled that Trump was not immune, the Republican presidential candidate could have appealed the decision to the Supreme Court before Election Day.
“That kept this whole case out of the Supreme Court before the election, at a time when the Supreme Court otherwise would have every incentive to issue just as political decision as it issued with respect to presidential immunity,” Weissmann said. “It would have had the same incentive to go and reach into this case and say, ‘No, there has to be a retrial.'”
Trump’s New York criminal case related to a $130,000 payment made to Stormy Daniels, a former adult film star, ahead of the 2016 election. Daniels has said the payment was to keep her from going public about a sexual encounter she’d had with Trump years before.
Newsweek has contacted Trump’s campaign for comment.
In a four-page decision, Merchan described this period as a “unique moment” because of the complexities of holding a sentencing hearing before a national election. He wrote, “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.”
Trump maintains his innocence in the hush-money case, though a jury unanimously found him guilty on all counts. After Merchan announced the delay, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “The Manhattan D.A. Witch Hunt has been postponed because everyone realizes there was NO CASE, I DID NOTHING WRONG!”
The stakes are high for Trump. Michael Cohen, his former personal lawyer, spent three years in prison and home confinement over campaign finance violations related to the same payment to Daniels.
Weissmann said leaving the sentencing until after the election makes it easier for Merchan to consider sending Trump to jail if he loses the election, as the judge would not have to consider the implications of preventing Trump from campaigning or serving as president “if he’s just citizen Trump and he’s not a candidate.”