Former President Donald Trump hopes to delay his sentencing in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case until after the November election. If that doesn’t happen, however, the former president could spend election night behind bars.
The Republican presidential candidate was convicted by a Manhattan jury in May on 34 counts of falsifying corporate records. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 18 after being delayed by a Supreme Court ruling.
John Yoo, a former Justice Department official under George W. Bush, told DailyMail.com that if the sentencing date is upheld, Judge Juan Merchan could send the ex-president to prison in the final stages of the campaign.
“Yes, the judge has the authority to immediately imprison Trump after his conviction,” Yoo said.
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump said it would amount to “election interference” to proceed with the scheduled Sept. 18 sentencing in his Stormy Daniels hush-money case
Yoo and other lawyers do not expect the ex-president to receive a prison sentence because he committed a first-time crime, but that is up to the judge.
‘T“This would show how deluded Judge Merchan really is,” Yoo said. “Trump is a nonviolent, first-time offender convicted of accounting fraud.”
Yoo noted that Trump has a strong case for his appeal. He has a strong case for his appeal and said he believes the former president should win the appeal.
“A sensible judge would sideline Trump while his case is heard,” he noted.
In a letter to Merchan this week, Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche argued for a stay of sentencing, citing a risk of “election interference.”
Blanche wrote that the sentence should be “postponed until after the presidential elections” and brought the failed attempt to convince Merchan to recuse himself from the case because of his daughter’s work for a company that runs digital advertising campaigns for Democrats.
President Trump leaves a Manhattan courtroom on May 30 after a New York jury found him guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying corporate records to cover up payments to Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet before the 2016 election.
He also criticized Kamala Harris’ new running mate, Governor Tim Walz, for “falsely referring to this matter in a public speech as the Democratic Party nominee for vice president.”
Harris, a former California prosecutor and attorney general, has made targeting “predators” and other suspects a key part of her campaign speech since replacing President Joe Biden.
Trump wants to prevent the office of U.S. Attorney Alvin Bragg from filing a sentencing request while the court considers Trump’s motion for presidential immunity, following the Supreme Court’s ruling last month.
The President of the United States is immune from prosecution for official acts while in office, the Supreme Court ruled in early June in a landmark ruling that has far-reaching implications for the president’s powers and the criminal cases against Donald Trump.
The case revolved around special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Trump for allegedly masterminding efforts to overturn the 2020 election while he was still in office, including on January 6.
The former president’s team argued that Trump, and any other president, should be absolutely immune from prosecution for actions taken while in office, as doing so could impede important decision-making.
The decision, which was 6-3 and divided along ideological lines, ensures that Trump will not face another large-scale trial before the November election. The case will then be sent back to a lower court to determine what constituted his “official” and “unofficial” actions.
New York Judge Juan Merchan has already delayed sentencing after a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity
“The President has no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official. The President is not above the law,” the justices, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, wrote in the majority.
Judge Merchan is expected to rule on the immunity issue on September 16. Trump’s team wants him to delay sentencing until an appeal is filed.
Despite the ruling, Merchan previously said the Sept. 18 sentencing date “remains unchanged.” While he has not yet responded to Trump’s lawyers’ requests, Yoo does not expect the extension to be granted.
“Judge Merchan ruled against Trump every chance he got, even when Trump had the law on his side,” Yoo said.
“I think he manipulated the process in a way that humiliated Trump and damaged him politically. I would expect Merchan to want to convict Trump before the election and sentence him to prison.”
