President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money sentencing, scheduled for Nov. 26, has been canceled indefinitely by Judge Juan M. Merchan.
The big picture: Both prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers will have 2.5 weeks to file additional documents detailing their plans for how to proceed in light of Trump’s impending return to the White House.
- Trump’s legal team is pushing for the case to be dismissed outright, claiming that allowing it to continue would interfere with his presidential transition and duties.
- On the other hand, prosecutors have indicated that they are open to putting the case on hold while Trump is in office, but they do not want it to be scrapped altogether. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg emphasized the need to balance the obligations of the presidency with “the sanctity of the jury verdict.”
The backstory: Trump was convicted in May of falsifying his business’ records to conceal the true nature of $130,000 in payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, allegedly to keep her quiet about a past sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.
