The decision by Justice Juan M. Merchan means voters will be left in the dark about whether the former president will face time behind bars.

The judge overseeing Donald J. Trump’s criminal case in Manhattan postponed his sentencing until after Election Day, a significant victory for the former president as he seeks to overturn his conviction and win back the White House.

In a ruling on Friday, the judge, Juan M. Merchan, rescheduled the sentencing for Nov. 26. He had previously planned to hand down Mr. Trump’s punishment on Sept. 18, just seven weeks before Election Day, when Mr. Trump will face off against Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency.

While the decision will avert a courtroom spectacle in the campaign’s final stretch, the delay itself could still affect the election, keeping voters in the dark about whether the Republican presidential nominee will eventually spend time behind bars.

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  • @JoshuaFalken
    52•10 days ago

    Not exactly related to this article but, I looked this judge up on Ballotpedia, and found this funny little tidbit.

    Judge Merchan handed the Trump Organization a $1.6M fine in that tax case a couple years ago. The District Attorney for Manhattan, Alvin Bragg, said:

    “While corporations can’t serve jail time, this consequential conviction and sentencing serves as a reminder to corporations and executives that you cannot defraud tax authorities and get away with it.”

    What a head of cabbage. As if a couple million dollars is anything to these corporations. These fines need to be double digit percentages of revenue before they get viewed as anything other than a line item on the expense report.