Judge delays Trump’s hush money sentencing until at least September after high court immunity ruling

In a major reprieve for former President Donald Trump, sentencing for his hush money convictions was postponed Tuesday until at least September — if ever — as the judge agreed to weigh the possible impact of a new Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.

Trump had been scheduled to face sentencing July 11, just before the Republicans' nominating convention, on his New York convictions on felony charges of falsifying business records. He denies any wrongdoing.

The postponement sets the sentencing for Sept. 18 at the earliest — if it happens at all, since Trump's lawyers are arguing that the Supreme Court ruling merits not only delaying the sentencing but tossing out his conviction.

“The impact of the Immunity Ruling is a loud and clear signal for Justice in the United States,” Trump crowed on his Truth Social media site after the sentencing was delayed.

Using all capital letters, he claimed the Supreme Court’s decision netted him “total exoneration” in this and other criminal cases he faces.

There was no immediate comment on the sentencing postponement from Manhattan prosecutors, who brought the hush money case.

Though the Sept. 18 date is well after this month's Republican National Convention, where Trump is set formally to accept the party’s nomination for president in this year’s race, it is far closer to Election Day, which could put the issue top-of-mind for voters just as they seriously tune into the race. Because of absentee voting timelines in certain states, some voters may already have cast ballots before anyone knows whether the former president will have to spend time in jail or on home confinement.

The delay caps a string of political and legal wins for Trump in recent days, including the Supreme Court's immunity ruling and a debate widely seen as a disaster for Democratic President Joe Biden.

The immunity decision all but closed the door on the possibility that Trump could face trial in his 2020 election interference case in Washington before this November's vote. The timeline in itself is a victory for the former president, who has sought to delay his four criminal cases past the balloting.

An appeals court recently paused a separate election interference case against Trump, in Georgia; no trial date has been set. His federal classified documents case in Florida remains bogged down by pretrial disputes that have resulted in an indefinite cancelation of the trial date.

Monday's Supreme Court ruling granted broad immunity protections to presidents, while also restricting prosecutors from citing any official acts as evidence in trying to prove a president’s unofficial actions violated the law.

The high court held that former presidents are absolutely immune from prosecution for actions that fall within their core constitutional duties, such as interacting with the Justice Department, and at least presumptively immune for all other official acts. The justices left intact the longstanding principle that no immunity exists for purely personal acts.

It's not clear how the decision will affect the New York hush money case.

Its underpinnings involved allegations that a pre-presidency Trump participated in a scheme to stifle sex stories that he feared would be damaging to his 2016 campaign. But the actual charges had to do with payments made in 2017 to his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, who had shelled out hush money on Trump's behalf. Trump was president when he signed relevant checks to Cohen.

Trump’s lawyers sought unsuccessfully before the trial to keep out certain evidence that they said concerned official acts, including social media posts he made as president.

Merchan said in April it would be “hard to convince me that something that he tweeted out to millions of people voluntarily cannot be used in court when it's not being presented as a crime. It's just being used as an act, something he did.”

When Trump vied unsuccessfully last year to get the hush-money case moved from state court to federal court, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected the former president's claim that allegations in the hush money indictment involved official duties.

“The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the matter was a purely personal item of the president — a cover-up of an embarrassing event," Hellerstein wrote last year.

Hours after Monday's Supreme Court ruling, Trump’s attorney requested that New York Judge Juan M. Merchan set aside the jury’s guilty verdict and delay the sentencing to consider how the high court’s ruling could affect the hush money case.

Merchan wrote that he’ll rule Sept. 6, and the next date in the case would be Sept. 18, “if such is still necessary.”

In the defense filing Monday, Trump's attorneys argued that Manhattan prosecutors had placed “highly prejudicial emphasis on official-acts evidence,” including Trump's social media posts and witness testimony about Oval Office meetings.

Prosecutors responded that they believed those arguments were “without merit” but that they wouldn't oppose adjourning the sentencing for two weeks as the judge considers the matter.

Trump was convicted May 30 on 34 counts of falsifying business records arising from what prosecutors said was an attempt to cover up a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election.

Daniels claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 after meeting him at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe. Trump has repeatedly denied that claim, saying at his June 27 debate with Biden: “I didn’t have sex with a porn star.”

Prosecutors said the Daniels payment was part of a broader scheme to buy the silence of people who might have gone public during the campaign with embarrassing stories alleging Trump had extramarital sex. Trump said they all were false.

Cohen paid Daniels and was later reimbursed by Trump, whose company logged the reimbursements as legal expenses.

Trump's defense argued that the payments were indeed for legal work and so were correctly categorized.

Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years behind bars. Other potential sentences include probation, a fine or a conditional discharge which would require Trump to stay out of trouble to avoid additional punishment. Trump is the first ex-president convicted of a crime.

Contributing were Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak in Fort Pierce, Florida, Jill Colvin in New York and Eric Tucker in Washington.

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at 180 Church, June 15, 2024, in Detroit. Former President Donald Trump's sentencing in his hush money case has been postponed until Sept. 18. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

FILE - In this artist depiction Judge Juan Merchan presides over former President Donald Trump's trial in Manhattan criminal court, April 23, 2024, in New York. Former President Donald Trump's sentencing in his hush money case has been postponed until Sept. 18. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump enters at a campaign event, June 18, 2024, in Racine, Wis. Former President Donald Trump's sentencing in his hush money case has been postponed until Sept. 18. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps, File)

FILE - Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks to the media after a jury found former President Donald Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, May 30, 2024, in New York. Bragg won't oppose delaying former President Donald Trump's sentencing in his hush money case after the Supreme Court immunity ruling. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Chesapeake, Va., Friday, June 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election, which could have taken place as late as January 2025.

After 14 years in power under five different prime ministers, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ’s Conservatives are widely expected to lose to the main opposition party, the left-of-center Labour Party led by Keir Starmer. Sunak's party has struggled to reassure voters on issues including the rising cost of living and a crisis in the National Health Service.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 10 p.m. on Thursday night. Even before in-person voting began, hundreds of thousands of people had cast their ballot by postal vote.

An exit poll commissioned by the main U.K. broadcasters will be published as soon as the polls close, giving an indication of the likely result.

Counting will begin immediately but most of the results will only be announced in the early hours of Friday.

Here's the latest:

If you were watching the news coverage of the U.K. election, you would be forgiven for thinking it has gone to the dogs.

Seemingly every news site had a gallery of images with dogs outside polling stations, patiently waiting for their owners to do their civic duty while the news business fulfilled an obligation of its own to protect the sanctity of elections.

The U.K. has restrictions on what can be reported on election days before the polls close to avoid influencing voters. Unlike the United States, where there is wall-to-wall coverage and analysis, there is no such reporting in Britain.

There are just reports that people are going to the polls, along with photos and footage of the lead candidates entering polling stations — but there is no discussion of their campaign platforms.

Thus, the puppy love.

There was Alfie, a blonde shaggy dog in Chiswick, Arnie a cockapoo wearing a rainbow color bowtie in Liverpool and Tobie, a rare ottherhound, in Norfolk. Those were on Sky News.

On the BBC, there was Lucien, a Bernese mountain dog, lying outside Antrobus Village Hall in Cheshire, Pippin, a fox red Labrador, in the Edgware part of London, and Maui, an Old English sheepdog in Wokingham.

Journalists went the extra mile to show that it wasn’t just pooches at polls — they found at least two horses, a cat, a chicken and a giant snake named Neptune.

Voters in the north London borough of Islington started to gather even before the polling station opened as the historically Labour Party stronghold tantalizingly considers the possibility of a change in government after 14 years of Conservative rule.

James Erskine, who works in advertising, said he was unable to forgive Conservative austerity policies that he believes have decimated public services, such as the National Health Service. Even so, he wanted to vote for something rather than against something.

“I think nothing has gone well in the last 14 years, and I think it’s really important that the right result happens,’’ he told The Associated Press. “I was even excited that we might get a different opposition to the big two parties. I don’t actually think that will happen, but that would be amazing. I just see this as the potential for a seismic shift, and that’s what I’m hoping for.”

Erskine did not disclose who he voted for

England’s team base at the European Championship soccer tournament in Germany is a “politics-free zone” on election day, defender John Stones says.

Stones said he had no clue about his teammates’ voting intentions.

“I couldn’t tell you about the other lads. I’m sure it it’ll be something that’ll get brought up tonight, later on, but I couldn’t tell you who they vote for. They keep it close to their chests,” he said.

That’s a stark contrast to France’s players, who have been vocal about a hard-fought parliamentary election campaign at home.

England is preparing for its Euro 2024 quarterfinal match against Switzerland on Saturday

LONDON — Britain is going to the polls Thursday at a time when public dissatisfaction is running high over a host of issues.

From the high cost of living and a stagnating economy to a dysfunctional state health care system and crumbling infrastructure, some disillusioned voters have turned to the populist Reform Party.

Its divisive leader Nigel Farage, who championed Brexit, is drawing growing numbers of Conservative voters with his pledge to “take our country back.”

Opponents have long accused Farage of fanning racist attitudes toward migrants and condemned what they call his scapegoat rhetoric. They say that underfunding of schools, hospitals and housing under governments on the right and left is the problem, not migrants.

Polls show Farage has a comfortable lead in Clacton-on-Sea — a town on England’s southeast coast where many older, white voters used to staunchly support the governing Conservatives.

It’s unclear how much impact his party will have in capturing seats and Parliament, though it could be a spoiler by siphoning votes from Conservative candidates.

Farage, who has lost seven campaigns for Parliament, was the rare party leader who didn’t go to the polls Thursday. He voted in advance by mail.

All voters in the U.K. were required to bring identification with them Thursday for the first time in a general election.

A change in the law has required voters in England, Scotland and Wales to prove their identity since 2023 by showing a passport, drivers’ license and more than a dozen other acceptable forms of ID.

Voters in Northern Ireland have had to show identification since 1985, and photo ID since 2003.

The Elections Act introduced by former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2022 was enforced, ironically, earlier this year when Johnson tried to vote without ID in a local election in South Oxfordshire.

He was turned away, but returned later with his identification and cast his vote.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey voted Thursday in an election that could see his left-of-center party gain a larger share of seats in Parliament.

Davey’s Lib Dems have been trying to make inroads in areas of southern England where Conservatives are vulnerable as their party has plunged in popularity after 14 years in power.

Davey’s stunt-filled campaign has been a publicity bonanza. He has tumbled off a paddleboard into a lake, braved roller coaster rides and bungee jumped, urging voters to take “a leap of faith.”

The party had 15 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons when Parliament was dissolved in May.

The party has vowed to improve Britain’s ailing health and social care systems, including introducing free nursing care at home. It wants to lower voting age to 16 and rejoin the European Union’s single market. Davey has championed the cause of hold water companies accountable for dumping sewage in rivers.

Davey, first elected to Parliament in 1997, greeted members of the news media as he arrived with his wife, Emily, to vote at a Methodist church in Surbiton, a suburb in southwest London.

“It’s a beautiful day,” he said as he left the polls. “I hope lots of people come out to vote.”

Communities all over the United Kingdom such as Henley-on-Thames are locked in tight contests in which traditional party loyalties come second to more immediate concerns about the economy, crumbling infrastructure and the National Health Service.

Though it has traditionally been a Conservative Party stronghold, the area known for its famous regatta may change its stripes. The Conservatives, which took power during the depths of the global financial crisis, have been beset by sluggish growth, declining public services and a series of scandals, making them easy targets for critics on the left and right.

“This is a blue (Conservative) town, always has been,’’ said Sam Wilkinson, a restaurant manager. “My generation won’t necessarily vote blue, not necessarily, but at the same time who else do you vote for? It’s really tricky. I’m just kind of looking out for my kids really, hopefully more money into education and the arts.”

Residents steadily streamed to the polling station, including Patricia Mulcahy, who is retired.

“The younger generation are far more interested in change,’’ she said. “So, I think whatever happens in Henley, in the country, there will be a big shift. But whoever gets in, they’ve got a heck of a job ahead of them. It’s not going to be easy.”

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is running for reelection as an independent, posted a photo of himself voting Thursday in his North London district.

Corbyn, a socialist who has won his seat for Labour at every general election since 1983, was suspended from the party and barred from running by Labour after his leadership faced antisemitism allegations.

He became deeply unpopular after Labour in 2019 suffered its worst defeat since 1935.

Keir Starmer was chosen as leader to replace Corbyn and he has rebuilt it and moved it closer to the center. Pollsters and politicians expect Labour to win the largest number of seats.

Corbyn posted a photo of himself on the social media platform X with his right thumb up, saying: “Just voted for the independent candidate in Islington North. I heard he’s alright.”

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer voted Thursday in an election that is widely expected to return his party to power for the first time in 14 years and make him prime minister.

Starmer, who has warned his supporters not to take the election for granted despite polls and politicians predicting a landslide, voted in his London neighborhood.

Pollsters have given Labour a double-digit lead since before the campaign began six weeks ago.

Starmer has spent his time criss-crossing Britain and urging voters to vote for change.

He has pledged to revive a sluggish economy, invest in the nation’s crumbling infrastructure and repair the broken National Health Service, which his center-left party founded in 1945.

Scottish National Party leader John Swinney has voted as his party fights to hold off a wave of support from the rival Labour Party.

Swinney, who became the SNP’s third leader in just over a year in May, has tried to bring stability to a party in turmoil.

Scotland’s long-serving First Minister Nicola Sturgeon abruptly stepped down last year during a campaign finance investigation that eventually led to criminal charges against her husband, who was the party’s chief executive.

Swinney joined the party at 15 years old, and previously led the party from 2000 to 2004.

Swinney has said that if his party wins a majority of seats in Scotland he will try to open Scottish independence negotiations with the London-based U.K. government. He wants to rejoin the European Union and the European single market.

Swinney walked to the polls in Burrelton Village Hall, Perthshire, with his 13-year-old son Matthew.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cast his ballot Thursday in a national election that will determine if he remains in office.

Sunak, who tried to bring stability to a Conservative Party in chaos when he was picked as leader in October 2022, spent the past six weeks trying to persuade voters across the U.K. to give his party another term after 14 years in power.

Pollsters and politicians widely expect the Labour Party to win for the first time since 2005.

Sunak’s campaign got off to a soggy start when he called the snap election in a downpour outside 10 Downing Street in May.

He had been expected to wait until the fall, when expected improvements in the economy would give him a better chance.

Sunak voted shortly after polls opened in his constituency in Yorkshire in northern England.

British voters are picking a new government on Thursday after polls opened at 7 a.m. for a parliamentary election that is widely expected to bring the opposition Labour Party to power.

Against a backdrop of economic malaise, mounting distrust of government institutions and a fraying social fabric, a fractious electorate is delivering its verdict on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party, which has been in power since 2010.

The center-left Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, has had a steady and significant lead in opinion polls for months, but Labour leaders have warned against taking the election result for granted, worried their supporters will stay home.

Sunak, for his part, has tried to rally his supporters, saying on Sunday that he still thought the Conservatives could win and defending his record on the economy.

Joey, the Shih Tzu, waits outside the polling station as their owner votes in the general election at St James' Church, Goldenacre, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Thursday July 4, 2024. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

A voter waits with his dog after casting his vote at the Cherry Tree public house which is being used a polling station in Urpeth, County Durham, northern England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

Scottish First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney, right, stands with local parliamentary candidate for Angus and Perthshire Glens, Dave Doogan, after casting his vote outside the 2024 General Election polling station at Burreltown Village Hall in Blairgowrie, Scotland, Thursday July 4, 2024. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

A sign for polling station is set up at Magdalen Hill Cemetery near Winchester, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)

A woman holds a tray after offering hot drinks to members of the media waiting for Labour Party leader Keir Starmer to vote outside a polling station in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A woman leaves after casting her vote at a polling station in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A polling station volunteer puts out notices just before voting starts in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A PETA activist , People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, dressed as a bear holds a poster in front of a polling station in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election, which could have taken place as late as January 2025. Polls opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 10 p.m. on Thursday night. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A voter leaves a polling station after casting his vote with his dog in Kingston, London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

A dog sits outside a polling station in Southfields in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

People go to cast their vote in a temporary polling station next to Norbiton railway station London Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

People go to vote in a temporary polling station next to Norbiton railway station London Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

A woman goes to cast her vote in a polling station at Brompton Methodist church in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election.(AP Photo/)

A man walks into a temporary polling station at Wimbledon Village, London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years.(AP Photo/Mark Baker)

People walk past a temporary polling station near Wimbledon, London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty leave a polling station after voting near Richmond, North Yorkshire, England, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Britain goes to the polls Thursday after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell )

Labour leader Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria arrive to cast their votes in the 2024 General Election at Willingham Close TRA Hall in London, Thursday July 4, 2024. (James Manning/PA via AP)

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and wife Victoria arrive at a polling station to cast their vote in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Voters in the U.K. are casting their ballots in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years. Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party on May 22 when he called the election. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A polling station is installed inside a launderette for the 2024 General Election, in Oxford, England, Thursday July 4, 2024. (Jacob King/PA via AP)

A polling station is installed inside a launderette for the 2024 General Election, in Oxford, England, Thursday July 4, 2024. (Jacob King/PA via AP)

A man leaves after casting his ballot at a polling station installed inside a launderette for the 2024 General Election, in Oxford, England, Thursday July 4, 2024. (Jacob King/PA via AP)

A polling station sign points to where local residents can cast their votes ahead of the general election, in London, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)