Judge delays deciding whether to null Trump’s conviction following SCOTUS ruling

A New York judge is delaying a hearing on whether President-elect Donald Trump’s conviction should stand.
Judge Juan Merchan was scheduled to hear arguments on Tuesday in the wake of the Supreme Court’s July 1 ruling that said presidents are not subject to criminal prosecution for official acts taken in office. While the Supreme Court did not define “official acts,” attorneys for Trump say the conviction should be overturned in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The hearing was expected to come more than five months after Donald Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Merchan pushed the hearing to Nov. 19.
If Merchan rejects Trump’s immunity claims, Trump could face sentencing on Nov. 26. That sentencing, however, remains in question in the wake of Trump’s presidential election victory last week. It’s also unclear if Merchan’s delay on Tuesday would also be a reason to push sentencing.
Sentencing has faced multiple delays, first because of the Supreme Court’s ruling on immunity. It faced continued delays as Merchan did not want to hold the hearing right before the presidential election.
In May, a jury found Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in his New York criminal hush money trial, making him the first American president to be convicted of a crime. During the six-week trial, prosecutors argued Trump falsified the records to conceal damaging stories, including an alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels, ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
The New York criminal trial was the first of four for Trump. He faces federal charges in Florida for his handling of classified documents. He was also indicted in Washington, D.C., for allegedly engaging in a conspiracy to subvert the 2020 presidential election. In Georgia, Trump also faces charges for allegedly interfering with the election.
Last week, special counsel Jack Smith was granted a pause in the Washington case in light of Trump’s presidential victory. It is widely expected that all three cases of the remaining cases will be dropped as Department of Justice guidelines say a sitting president cannot be tried for crimes while in office.