The judge in Donald Trump's criminal case in New York has postponed until November 19 a decision on whether to throw out the US president-elect's conviction, the court said.
Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in May after jurors found he had manipulated business documents to cover up an alleged sexual encounter with a porn star before the 2016 election, AFP reported.
The president-elect is due to be sentenced on November 26. He could get a reprieve if Judge Juan Merchan decides to dismiss the case following the recent Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
In that landmark decision, the court, by a conservative majority of 6 to 3, declared that presidents have broad immunity from prosecution for a range of official acts committed during their terms in office.
Before the election, Trump's lawyers asked that the case be dismissed in light of the Supreme Court's ruling. That move was flatly rejected by prosecutors.
If Merchan dismisses the case on that basis, the 78-year-old Trump will not be convicted.
If he doesn't, the Republican's legal team will almost certainly try to oppose or delay any conviction. It will insist that a conviction would interfere with Trump's role as commander-in-chief after he is sworn in on Jan. 20.
"The joint motion to stay the current deadlines ... until November 19 is granted," the court wrote in an email to the parties in the case. | BGNES
