Trump hush money case: New York judge delays proceedings until Nov 19

A New York state judge on Tuesday (Nov. 12) halted proceedings in the hush money trial case involvingUS President-elect Donald Trump, documents show.The charges stemmed from hush money allegedly paid to a porn star.

Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the case, had given himself the Nov. 12 deadline to decidewhether Trump's conviction could be vacated due to the Supreme Court's July decision on presidential immunity. Trump had also been scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 26.

Now, the proceedings have been halted till Nov. 19.

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The judge made the decision following a recommendation fromthe office of the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, who referred to Trump's victory in the 2024 elections. Trump had earlier askedBragg to agree to the delay.

Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court ruled that Trump can’t be prosecuted for actions that were within his constitutional powers as president in a landmark decision, recognising for the first time any form of presidential immunity from prosecution.

"We conclude that under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of presidential power requires that a former president have some immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts during his tenure in office," the top court had said.

US President Joe Biden had slammed the ruling, saying it sets a wrong and dangerous precedent.

"This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America ... no one is above the law, not even the president of the United States," said Biden.

The 78-year-old is facing up to four years in prison after being convicted of 34 counts of felony for making hushpayments to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Now, legal experts are saying Trump won’t have a hard time in getting these convictions nullified as he would be occupying the highest office in the country for the next four years.

(With inputs from agencies)