Trump NY Sentencing Postponed Until September
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Facts
- On Tuesday, the New York judge who presided over the New York criminal trial of former US Pres. Donald Trump agreed to delay sentencing until Sept. 18 while he determines whether Trump's convictions should be thrown out.1
- This comes as Trump's lawyers sent a letter to the judge on Monday, asking to delay the former president's sentencing and reconsider his guilty verdict in the aftermath of the US Supreme Court's (SCOTUS) ruling this week on presidential immunity.2
- Trump attorney Todd Blanche wrote, 'The verdicts in this case violate the presidential immunity doctrine' because prosecutors shouldn't have been allowed to offer evidence related to Trump's official acts as president.3
- SCOTUS on Monday announced its 6-3 decision in a separate Trump case, finding that presidents have broad immunity from prosecution and can never be prosecuted for acts related to the core powers of the office.4
- Trump last month was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to payments he made to a woman to cover up an alleged affair before the 2016 presidential election. He pleaded not guilty to all counts.2
- Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office submitted a letter disagreeing with Trump's lawyers' argument but assenting to the delay request.3
Sources: 1USA Today, 2Associated Press, 3CBS and 4Verity.
Narratives
- Anti-Trump narrative, as provided by Guardian. SCOTUS' presidential immunity ruling is setting up the US to become a dictatorship. And, as expected, Trump's lawyers wasted little time in requesting that the former president's sentencing be postponed and his convictions be overturned. Now Trump is unlikely to be held accountable for any illegal actions he's taken in the past and could have free reign if he's reelected this fall.
- Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by Breitbart. Democrats and others on the left are throwing a fit over SCOTUS' immunity ruling, but Trump's lawyers have argued all along that much of the evidence in the New York case and other cases was inadmissible. Now, they've been proven correct. While it's good news that the former president's sentencing has been postponed, it's now time to reconsider the New York verdict because there's a strong chance Trump will be exonerated.