On Tuesday, the court postponed the verdict in the case of the newly elected US President Donald Trump, which was related to the bribery of porn actress Stormy Daniels.
Trump’s lawyers demanded that the case be dismissed so that the future president could carry out his duties. TASR informs about it based on the report of the AP agency.
Judge Juan Merchan was scheduled to rule on Trump’s request to overturn the decision to find him guilty in the case of bribing a porn actress in exchange for silence. Instead, the judge suspended the proceedings and postponed a verdict until at least November 19. According to Reuters, Merchan complied with the request of the office of the prosecutor Alvin Bragg to consider how to approach the case in view of the upcoming inauguration of Trump.
Given the “unprecedented circumstances,” prosecutors must assess how to balance the “competing interests” of the jury’s verdict and the presidency, one of the prosecutors said.
Trump’s lawyer argued that dismissing the case was “necessary to avoid unconstitutional obstruction of President Trump’s ability to govern.”
According to the testimony of the 45-year-old actress in adult films, she had sexual intercourse with Trump several times in 2006, when he was already married to his current wife Melania. Before winning the 2016 presidential election, Trump, through his former lawyer Michael Cohen, paid her $130,000 to keep quiet about it. He then reported the money as part of the election campaign, thereby falsifying business records.
At the end of May, a New York court jury found Trump guilty of all 34 counts in the case of bribing a porn actress in exchange for her silence. Falsification of business records was also related to the case.
Sentencing against Trump in the case was originally expected on September 18. However, Judge Merchan granted the request of the ex-president’s lawyers to postpone the judgment until after the presidential elections.
