Major Update: New York Judge Delays Trump Sentencing

Due to the U.S. Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling, Judge Juan Merchan delayed the sentencing in President Donald Trump’s New York trial until September 18. Will DA Alvin Bragg be forced to reopen the trial after much of his evidence included “official acts” from when Trump was President?

The delayed sentencing date is huge for two reasons. First, much of the far Left hoped that the attention would shift from President Biden’s poor debate performance to Trump’s original sentencing date of July 11. And as I said last week, it will not be good news for President Biden if the media is still talking about replacing him after the long Independence Day weekend.

Right now, the narrative isn’t shifting for Biden. Yesterday, the primary topic at White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s press conference was President Biden’s fitness for office. Also, an internal Democrat election poll was leaked that sounded the alarm for Biden’s reelection in swing states, and Trump is way ahead in fundraising now following the debate.

The second reason that the delayed sentencing is significant comes from Judge Juan Merchan’s letter regarding the delayed sentencing: “The Court’s decision will be rendered off-calendar on September 6, 2024, and the matter is adjourned to September 18, 2024, at 10:00 AM for the imposition of sentence, if such is still necessary, or other proceedings.”

Did you catch the important nugget: “if such is still necessary, or other proceedings”? In other words, the Supreme Court’s decision could derail Bragg’s case altogether. Within hours of the Justices’ decision, Trump’s lawyers contested this issue, setting off the chain of events leading to the delayed sentencing – a lot of movement happened quickly.

Bragg had presented a broad case that ignored expired statutes of limitations and elevated what would have been a misdemeanor into 34 felony counts. Yet by going so broad, Bragg might have tanked his case completely by presenting evidence that would now be considered inadmissible.

Trump’s lawyers filed a brief to have the jury’s verdict vacated, and the other side will be filing a brief in response. Judge Merchan will review the briefs (which the caveat “if such is still necessary” refers to) before the sentencing date. The judge might not have a reason to sentence President Trump at all.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo commented on how the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity affects the lawfare against Trump:

We always knew this [lawfare] was deeply political and not in the tradition of the United States Constitution, the American legal tradition. . . . America hasn’t completely lost its way. The system is not going to permit a President, who is a candidate running against the former President, to use the legal system to prosecute them for things that are just way outside the line. And so there’s no doubt that concerted effort from the progressive movement from the Democrat Party is clearly failing as a legal matter. And I think the American people can smell that this wasn’t right. And I think it’s also failing as a political electoral matter as well.

At the end of the day, we don’t want America to be a banana republic where leaders abuse the legal system to put political opponents in jail. And the Supreme Court is doing its part to ensure the Constitution and the integrity of the legal system are preserved.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included a full analysis of the implications of Trump’s New York sentencing being delayed. ACLJ Senior Counsel CeCe Heil explained the ACLJ’s ongoing work to defend Israel at the U.N.

Watch the full broadcast below: