☰
HomeLiving Beyond BordersGZERO WorldSignalIn 60 SecondsPuppet RegimeGZERO World PodcastContact UsAbout UsCareersPrivacy PolicyTerms

Judge pushes Trump’s sentencing until after election. Why?

September 06, 2024
John Haltiwanger
Former President Donald Trump gives brief remarks alongside his attorney Todd Blanche at the conclusion of his hush money trial at Manhattan criminal court on July 11.
Former President Donald Trump gives brief remarks alongside his attorney Todd Blanche at the conclusion of his hush money trial at Manhattan criminal court on July 11.
Michael M. Santiago/Pool via USA TODAY NETWORK

Former President Donald Trump’s sentencing in his New York hush-money case, which had been scheduled for Sept. 18, has been delayed until after Election Day.

Judge Juan Merchan on Friday announced that Trump would not be sentenced until Nov. 26. Merchan said the decision was made to “avoid any appearance — however unwarranted — that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching presidential election in which the Defendant is a candidate.”

In May, Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in relation to a hush money payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors argued that the payment was tied to Trump’s desire to protect his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump could be sentenced to up to four years in prison, but legal scholars say this is unlikely given his lack of a criminal record — and the fact this was not a violent crime.

“The court did the right thing in trying to turn down the temperature by avoiding this politically charged sentencing,” says Jon Lieber, Eurasia Group’s managing director for the US.

We’ll also be watching to see how Merchan rules regarding the Trump legal team’s push for the verdict to be overturned and for the case to be dismissed in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision on presidential immunity. Merchan announced on Friday that he was also delaying his decision on this matter until November 12, a week after the election.

More from GZERO Media

The gap between Americans' perception of the economy and reality

- YouTube

youtu.be

As the candidates make their final arguments in the 2024 US Presidential Election, the economy is front and center on the minds of voters. Despite all signs indicating stable and above-trend growth in the US, many Americans feel uncertain about how well the economy is doing, said Robert Kahn, Managing Director of Global Macro-Geoeconomics at Eurasia Group.

IMF and World Bank close annual meetings with urgent call for fragile economies

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks to the media during an International Monetary and Financial Committee press briefing on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.
Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via Reuters

At the plenary session concluding the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s 2024 Annual Meetings in Washington, DC, on Friday, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva made clear there was no time to rest. Although wealthy countries seem likely to achieve the much-vaunted “soft landing” — reducing inflation without a recession — geopolitical, climactic, and fiscal risks are putting great strain on the world’s most vulnerable economies.

Trump rallies in NYC, Harris hits Philly in star-powered final push

Supporters attend a rally for Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden, in New York, U.S., on Oct. 27, 2024.

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

With the US election just eight days away, it’s crunch time for the presidential campaigns. Republican candidate Donald Trump headlined a rally Sunday night at Madison Square Garden in New York, a state that last backed a Republican in 1984. Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, was in Pennsylvania, visiting a barbershop and a Puerto Rican restaurant

Japan’s ruling coalition loses majority

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is pictured during a media interview at the headquarters of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo on Oct. 27, 2024.

Kyodo via Reuters Connect

Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito lost their parliamentary majority on Sunday in an election dominated by economic and ethical issues.

Is the Georgian Dream the West’s nightmare?

Supporters of the Georgian Dream party wave Georgian and party flags from cars after the announcement of poll results in parliamentary elections, in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Oct. 26, 2024.
REUTERS/Zurab Javakhadze

Opposition coalitions in the country of Georgia and its pro-Western President Salome Zourabichvili are accusing the incumbent Georgian Dream of stealing Saturday’s election, calling the results “falsified” and a “constitutional coup.”

The biodiversity-shaped piece in the climate crisis puzzle: How to solve it

Mastercard

The clock is ticking on efforts to help halt and reverse biodiversity loss, but there’s still time to help support the animals, plants, and ecosystems that are all necessary for a healthy planet. In order to protect biodiversity — every living organism and ecosystem from microbes to mangroves — citizens, companies, and countries all need to do their part. That’s why the Mastercard-led Priceless Planet Coalition is on a mission to restore 100 million trees and regenerate biodiversity-rich forests. Read more about the Coalition's approach and progress.

Hot topics at the IMF-World Bank meetings

- YouTube

youtu.be

Delegates at the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings have been giving rosy outlooks to the press while the cameras are rolling, but GZERO Senior Writer Matthew Kendrick heard a different story in private settings. He told Tony Maciulis that the global outlook depends heavily on US policy continuity — which is highly unlikely under a second Trump administration — and successful efforts in China to revive its own floundering economy.

Can we achieve gender equality by 2030?

- YouTube

youtu.be

This week World Bank announced a bold initiative to bridge the gender divide by creating more economic opportunity, broadening female leadership, and reducing gender-based violence in the next 5 years as 2030 approaches.

About UsCareers PressContact Us Privacy PolicyTerms of Use
© 2020 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.