Judge in Trump hush-money case delays ruling on scrapping conviction

A jury convicted president-elect in May of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 payment to adult film actress during his 2016 White House campaign

Donald Trump attends his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on April 15. AFP

A New York State judge has paused proceedings in president-elect Donald Trump's already decided criminal case on charges stemming from hush money paid to an adult film star, a document made public on Tuesday showed.

Judge Juan Merchan had been set to decide by Tuesday whether Mr Trump's conviction could be vacated due to the Supreme Court's decision in July on presidential immunity. Mr Merchan has delayed his ruling in the case until November 19. Mr Trump had been scheduled to be sentenced on November 26.

According to emails filed in court, Mr Trump's lawyer Emil Bove asked for the delay at the weekend, arguing that putting the case on hold – and then ending it altogether – is “necessary to avoid unconstitutional impediments to President Trump's ability to govern”.

Prosecutors agreed to the delay. Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office sent Mr Merchan an email on Sunday asking him to pause proceedings due to Mr Trump's November 5 election victory and inauguration in January 2025. Mr Trump had asked the office to agree to the delay, prosecutors wrote. “The people agree that these are unprecedented circumstances,” they wrote.

A jury convicted Mr Trump in May of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. The payout was to buy her silence about claims she had an affair with Mr Trump.

The president-elect has denied any wrongdoing and has claimed the case was politically motivated.

His criminal conviction was a first for any former president and left him facing the possibility of punishment from a fine or probation to up to four years in prison.

About a month after the verdict, the Supreme Court ruled that former presidents cannot be prosecuted for actions they took in the course of running the country, and prosecutors cannot cite those actions even to bolster a case centred purely on personal conduct.