Judge rules to postpone Trump hush money sentencing past Election Day.

• A judge ruled that former President Donald Trump will not be sentenced in his New York criminal hush money case until after the Nov. 5 presidential election.
• Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan ruled in a four-page order that the sentencing date, originally set for Sept. 18, will instead occur on Nov. 26.

A judge ruled on Friday that former President Donald Trump will not be sentenced in his New York criminal hush money case until after the Nov. 5 presidential election.

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan ruled in a four-page order that the sentencing date, originally set for Sept. 18, will instead occur on Nov. 26.

The payment of $130,000 made by Trump's attorney Michael Cohen to Stormy Daniels to prevent her from discussing a past affair with Trump prior to the 2016 election was later reimbursed by Trump after he won the election.

In July, Trump requested that Judge Juan Merchan dismiss the case and overturn the guilty verdicts against him, based on a Supreme Court ruling granting former presidents immunity for their official actions while in office.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office stated that the ruling was not applicable to the hush money case and would not support erasing the jury's verdict, regardless of its application.

The Supreme Court's July 1 ruling prompted Merchan to postpone Trump's sentencing, originally scheduled for July 11, by over two months.

Trump's legal team has consistently attempted to persuade Merchan to withdraw from the case. They alleged political bias against him, particularly during the trial, due to his daughter's work with a political firm that represents high-profile Democrats, including President Joe Biden.

Trump's conviction on 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records was the result of Merchan rejecting two recusal requests before the trial, which took place from mid-April to late May.

Trump's third recusal bid was rejected by Merchan on Aug. 13, with one of his arguments, an attack on the gag order restricting some of Trump's statements related to the case, being dismissed as "nothing more than an attempt to air grievances against this Court's rulings."

Trump's team requested that Merchan postpone the sentencing date until after the Nov. 5 election, stating in a court filing that sentencing is currently scheduled to take place after the start of early voting in the Presidential election.

Delaying the sentencing date, they contended, would "lessen, though not completely resolve, concerns about the authenticity of any future proceedings."

Trump's lawyers on Wednesday requested a federal appeals court to halt a U.S. District Court order that mandated the case to be returned to New York state court. Despite previous attempts, Trump had unsuccessfully tried to move the hush money case to federal court.

On Thursday, Bragg's office informed the appeals court in a letter that Merchan had indicated he would make a decision on whether to delay Trump's sentencing date on Friday.

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