Trump immunity decision in hush money case delayed by New York judge

HOUSTON - A New York judge on Tuesday delayed Donald Trump's immunity ruling in the president-elect's hush money conviction, according to reports.

Anadolu Agency reported Trump's lawyers have demanded that the case be dismissed now that he is president-elect, claiming that he is protected by the Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling following his victory against Vice President Kamala Harris last week in the presidential elections.

"The stay, and dismissal, are necessary to avoid unconstitutional impediments to President Trump’s ability to govern," said attorney Emil Bove, in an email to the judge.

Judge Juan Merchan agreed to postpone the case until Nov 19 to allow prosecutors to respond to the motion by Trump's attorneys to dismiss the case altogether, according to court records.

Trump's sentencing is scheduled for Nov 26, and if the proceedings continue, it would be the first sentencing of its kind for any former US president.

"The People agree that these are unprecedented circumstances and that the arguments raised by defense counsel in correspondence to the People...require careful consideration," prosecutor Matthew Colangelo wrote to the judge.

Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. The payments were made to keep Daniels' story about an alleged affair with Trump out of the headlines.

"It is now abundantly clear that Americans want an immediate end to the weaponisation of our justice system, including this case, which should have never been filed, so we can, as President Trump said in his historic victory speech, unify our country and work together for the betterment of our nation," Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement, according to Anadolu Agency.

The decision on the case is taking a similar path to his federal prosecution in Washington, DC, where Trump is accused of unlawfully conspiring to subvert the 2020 election results in which he lost to Joe Biden. That led to the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump has continually made false claims that the election was rigged and stolen from him.

Last week, a judge granted Special Counsel Jack Smith's request to suspend all deadlines in that case until Dec. 2 to determine what steps need to be taken next.

Two separate criminal prosecutions Trump faces are also on hold.

Trump's federal classified documents case, in which he was charged with taking top secret documents from the White House, was dismissed by another federal judge.

His criminal case in the state of Georgia, where he is accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election results in that state, has been paused indefinitely while an appeals court considers challenges from Trump and his co-defendants to dismiss that case. - BERNAMA-ANADOLU AGENCY