NEW YORK >> Former President Donald Trump is seeking to delay his criminal sentencing in Manhattan until after the presidential election, imploring the judge overseeing the case to allow him additional time to challenge his conviction.

In a letter to the judge that was made public Thursday, lawyers for Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, noted that his sentencing was set for Sept. 18, just weeks before Election Day. The lawyers argued that the timing could improperly influence voters and compromise Trump’s efforts to reverse his conviction on charges that he falsified records to cover up a sex scandal.

“Sentencing is currently scheduled to occur after the commencement of early voting in the presidential election,” the lawyers, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, wrote. “By adjourning the sentencing until after that election — which is of paramount importance to the entire nation,” they added, “the court would reduce, even if not eliminate, issues regarding the integrity of any future proceedings.”

Trump, who has routinely sought delays in his four criminal cases, wants to use the extra time to fight his conviction, an effort that hinges on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling granting him broad immunity for official actions as president.

His lawyers cited that decision in their request that the judge, Justice Juan M. Merchan, overturn the verdict and throw out the charges. Prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which brought the case, noted in response that it had nothing to do with Trump’s official acts in the White House.

Merchan is weighing Trump’s immunity bid, and has said he will rule Sept. 16, two days before the sentencing. Trump faces up to four years in prison, though the judge could impose a shorter sentence or only probation.

In the new letter to the judge, Trump’s lawyers argued that the two-day window between the immunity ruling and the sentencing was too short.

They argued that the sentencing should be postponed to “allow President Trump adequate time to assess and pursue state and federal appellate options in response to any adverse ruling,” implying that they might seek to appeal the ruling, as expected, or even take action against Merchan in federal court.

They also noted that if the sentencing proceeded as planned, prosecutors would be required to file their recommendation for Trump’s punishment before Merchan rules on the immunity issue.

That timeline, they said, could be “personally and politically prejudicial to President Trump and his family, and harmful to the institution of the presidency.”

A spokesperson for the district attorney, Alvin Bragg, declined to comment, and it is unclear how he will respond to Trump’s request for a delayed sentencing. Bragg’s office could reply to the letter in the coming days, and if it did not oppose Trump’s request, the judge might promptly approve a delay.

Any delay might be relatively brief. Whether or not Trump wins the election in November, Merchan could still impose his sentence during the presidential transition later this year. If Trump does win, however, the judge could postpone any punishment until after his term in office expires. If the judge does not sentence him before his inauguration, the case would almost certainly grind to a halt.

Even if he were reelected president, Trump could not pardon himself in Manhattan. The presidential pardon authority does not extend to state cases.

Trump’s effort to postpone his sentencing comes as the presidential race has heated up — and tightened — in recent weeks. After President Joe Biden stepped aside, Vice President Kamala Harris’ entry into the race alarmed the Trump campaign, which has seen its lead essentially evaporate.

Still, seeking a delay is hardly new for Trump. The former president made several attempts to push back his Manhattan trial, and has sought to do the same with the sentencing.

This spring, his lawyers requested that the trial be postponed after the disclosure of a batch of evidence from federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. The defense asked for 90 days; Merchan granted a three-week delay, moving the start of the trial from late March to mid-April.

The former president was also originally scheduled to be sentenced July 11, but his lawyers asked that the sentencing be delayed so the judge could consider whether the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity imperiled Trump’s conviction. When prosecutors did not oppose their request, Merchan moved the sentencing to Sept. 18.

During the trial, Merchan made it clear that it was a priority for him to keep the proceeding on track, even as Trump repeatedly criticized him and his family.

After a seven-week trial, a jury of 12 New Yorkers convicted Trump on all 34 felony counts he faced, concluding that he had falsified records to cover up a hush-money payment to a porn actor, Stormy Daniels, in the final days of the 2016 campaign.

The conviction centered on Trump’s cover-up of the hush-money deal. After his fixer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 to bury her story of a sexual liaison with Trump, he repaid Cohen and approved plans to lie on paperwork to hide the nature of the reimbursement, the jury found.

Trump’s latest request for a delay comes the same week Merchan again declined to step aside from the case. It was Trump’s third attempt to remove the judge, who the former president claims is biased against him.

“Stated plainly, defendant’s arguments are nothing more than a repetition of stale and unsubstantiated claims,” Merchan wrote in his latest ruling.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

© 2024 The New York Times Company