Judge Merchan Should Grant Trump’s Motion to Postpone September Sentencing

It could not be more obvious what the judge should do here.

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Judge Juan Merchan presides during former president Donald Trump’s trial in Manhattan state court in New York City, April 18, 2024 in this courtroom sketch.

Jane Rosenberg/Reuters

Former president Donald Trump’s defense team has written a letter to Judge Juan Merchan seeking postponement of the scheduled September 18, 2024, sentencing date.

As I’ve explained in recent posts (here and here, and at Fox News here), Judge Merchan has signaled his intention to deny Trump’s pending motion, principally based on the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling in Trump v. United States, to vacate the guilty verdicts and dismiss the indictment. On July 1, about a month after the jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of business-records falsification, the Court held in Trump that presidents have at least presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for official presidential acts, and absolute immunity for official acts within the president’s core constitutional authorities.

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