A New York judge postponed the sentencing of former U.S. President Donald Trump in the case of forgery of financial documents until November 26, reports UNN citing NBC News.
“This decision is not made lightly by the court, but it is a decision that the court believes is in the best interest of justice,” Judge Juan Merchan wrote in a ruling issued Friday.
Merchan issued the ruling Friday after Trump's lawyers asked him to delay the Sept. 18 sentencing until after the election so they could appeal a pending ruling on presidential immunity.
The decision was expected by Sept. 16 - just two days before what would have been the first-ever sentencing of a former president on criminal charges. Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels near the end of the 2016 presidential campaign.
“One business day is an unreasonably short time frame” for such an appeal, Trump's attorneys Todd Blanch and Emil Bove argued in an Aug. 14 statement. “There is no basis for further haste,” they argued.
Prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said they would “provide the court with a decision on whether a continuance for an orderly appellate proceeding is warranted” of any Trump appeal, but “would be prepared to appear for sentencing at any future date the court sets.
Merchan's decision Friday also pushed back his immunity ruling date to Nov. 12 - a full two weeks before a possible sentencing date and after the election.