The sentencing for Donald Trump’s conviction in his hush-money trial has been canceled indefinitely.
Judge Juan Merchan of the Supreme Court of the State of New York on Friday granted Trump’s application for a stay of sentencing, meaning the president-elect will not face justice anytime soon for his only criminal conviction, on 34 felony counts.
Trump has argued that the entire case should be thrown out after the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity, and this decision is a step in that direction. But, Merchan has made no mention of throwing out his felony convictions, and the Manhattan district attorney’s office seems to be waiting out the president-elect’s four-year term and then revisiting sentencing.
The charges came from Trump making $130,000 in hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to cover up their affair before the 2016 election through his then-fixer, Michael Cohen. A jury found the president-elect guilty in May, making it the first and only time a former president was successfully prosecuted on criminal charges.
At one time, Trump was facing three other indictments—one related to election interference in Georgia, a federal election interference case related to January 6, and his mishandling of classified documents. But now, they’re all moot until he’s done with his second term as president, as his strategy to delay his cases and win the election worked almost perfectly.
This story has been updated.
