Why will Donald Trump not be sentenced in his ‘hush money’ case until after the election?

Donald Trump’s bid to return to the White House has received a boost on the announcement that the sentencing in his ‘hush money case’ has been pushed back to a date beyond the 2024 presidential election.

There had been expectations that Trump and his team were going to appeal the ruling but in the end they didn’t need to. The Supreme Court’s July ruling on a president’s jurisdiction have muddied the legal waters so significantly that the presiding judge, Juan Merchand, has found it impossible to come to a sentencing conclusion at this time.

The Supreme Court ruled that Trump has some immunity for behavior related to his duties as president in the federal election interference case. However, the ruling affects all other cases levied at the president. The judges in the two trial courts were left to work out how the High Court’s decision will affect their specific cases.

Merchan said the ruling created “one of the most difficult decisions a judge can face.”

The background to the trial

The trial surrounded campaign finance violations stemming from a so-called hush money payment made to adult film Stephine Clifford, known professionally as Stormy Daniels, back in 2016. Members of the former president’s inner circle had made the payment after concerns within the 2016 campaign grew that an alleged affair between Trump and Clifford could become public.

The jury found Trump guilty on all 34 charges, making him the first US president to be convicted of a crime. The original date for sentencing was set for 11 July at 10 a.m. ET, making this a sizeable delay.