The Sentence in hush money trial against former US President Donald Trump will only be announced after the presidential election. The New York judge in charge, Juan Mechan postponed the originally scheduled date of September 18 to November 26 on Friday, This means that it will not be clear before the election on November 5 whether Trump will be sentenced to a fine, prison sentence or probation in the case.
“This is not a decision the Court makes lightly, but it is the decision that the Court believes most conduces to the interests of justice,” Merchan wrote. UThe sentence was originally scheduled to be announced on July 11but the Republican presidential candidate’s lawyers raised numerous objections, so Merchan had already postponed the announcement until September 18.
Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts by a jury in New York on May 30of having covered up a hush money payment made to former porn actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election by falsifying business documents. The 78-year-old is the first former US president in history to be convicted of a criminal offense.
He is running for the third time in the presidential election on November 5th and is currently in a close race with the Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in the polls. Further charges against the real estate billionaire, in particular for election manipulation after his defeat in 2020, will not be put to trial before November 5 lead. (AFP)
