Judge Juan Merchan in Donald Trump's New York criminal hush money case decided on Tuesday to postpone any ruling on a potential dismissal of Trump's conviction, pending review of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity.
Although Merchan was initially set to issue a decision, both the defense and prosecution requested additional time to assess the implications of Trump's status as president-elect on the case, according to ABC news.
Judge Merchan granted prosecutors until November 19 to propose their next steps in the case.
In late May, Trump's legal journey encountered a significant milestone when a jury found him guilty on 34 counts. These charges, about the falsification of business records, were to conceal a payment made to silence a porn star, adding salacious details to an already sensational trial.
The resultant appeal against a gag order that was placed on him represented one of several strategies that Trump's legal team undertook. They argued that the rationale for the gag order's imposition no longer remained valid with the trial's conclusion.
Trump's legal representatives would go on to contend that his status as a key figure in the then-upcoming 2024 presidential elections warranted reconsidering the restrictions to uphold First Amendment rights.
