Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free
Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
Donald Trump’s “hush money” case has been paused while a Manhattan judge considers the “unprecedented circumstances” of his election as US president while awaiting sentencing that had been set for later this month.
Justice Juan Merchan was due to decide on Tuesday whether Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts should be thrown out in light of the Supreme Court’s decision to grant presidents broad immunity for official acts. If the case survived, Trump was then set to be sentenced on November 26.
But in an email to lawyers, which was made public on Tuesday, Merchan agreed to give both parties until November 19 to brief him on why the case should be paused, perhaps until Trump leaves office.
In a message to Merchan on Sunday, Trump’s lawyer Emil Bove cited the Department of Justice’s decision to wind down the two federal prosecutions of the president-elect, and suggested New York prosecutors should do the same.
This is a developing story
