Judge Delays Trump Sentencing Until After Election

from The New York Times I'm Sabrina. tavernes and this is the. [Music]. daily last week a judge in Manhattan. announced he was delaying the sentencing. of former president Donald Trump until. after the election in the only one of. the four criminal cases that will have. gone to trial before voters go to the. polls today my colleag Ben protests on.

Trump's remarkable legal win and its. limits it's Tuesday September. 10th so Ben we got some news last week. in the Trump trial that had ended in 34. felony convictions tell me what happened. so Trump was supposed to be sentenced. this month and this was all in the. Manhattan Criminal Case where he was. convicted of.

covering up a hush money deal with a. porn star as you might recall and so he. faces up to four years in prison but on. Friday this surprise announcement. comes a legal and political victory for. Donald Trump the judge in the case his. name is Juan rashan he comes out and he. says actually the sentencing is going to. be delayed New York Justice Juan Maran. has ruled former president Donald Trump. will be sentenced November 26th 3 weeks. weeks after the election and now instead.

of it occurring in September just a. couple weeks from now it's going to be. scheduled for November judge Maran. writing his decision best advances the. interests of Justice noting this matter. is one that stands alone so really what. this means is that Trump will not be. sentenced prior to the election after. all and so it all adds up to the fact. that we have this first former American. president to be a felon and here he is. he's running for office yet again and.

voters are going to be heading to the. poll soon and they won't know what his. punishment. is that seems very consequential let's. try to unpack that so thinking back to. May when he was first convicted the. timing of his sentencing at that point. didn't really seem to be in question. like it was just the course of the. regular legal process so what. happened so you're right originally he.

was scheduled to be sentenced on July. 11th but on July 1st you might recall. the Supreme Court issued this very. consequential Landmark decision that. said that a former president cannot be. prosecuted for official acts that they. committed as president while in the. White House this is the immunity. decision exactly and so you know there's. still much to be learned and interpreted. from this decision but basically within. hours Trump's lawyers in New York move.

to throw out the conviction because they. think now this Supreme Court opinion. gives their client immunity even in this. case and that means in their minds that. the judge cannot sentence him as planned. on July 11th basically they feel that. the judge needs to First consider. whether or not to throw out the case. altogether and is there any validity in. the argument that Trump's lawyers are. making I mean that the Supreme Court. immunity decision could undermine his. conviction look it's a long shot almost.

all of the evidence in this case. involves the time period before he was. president involves payments to a porn. star that were made before his. presidency that being said he did make a. few payments to reimburse his fixer. Michael Cohen for the hush money while. he was president now is that an official. act I think most people including the. judge Juan Maran will conclude no that. was not an official act but his lawyer. will still try it and they'll argue that.

the prosecutors did try to introduce. evidence that involved Trump's time in. office so after he filed the immunity. petition that's what pushed the. sentencing back all the way to after. Labor Day September 18th that's when we. were supposed to see him receive his. punishment got it so it sounds like this. whole immunity decision is essentially a. delay tactic for Trump and his legal. team as you're saying Trump can't be. sentenced until the judge rules on. immunity and essentially decides whether.

the immunity decision would have any. role in undermining the hush money case. correct it's exactly right I guess I'm. wondering how much is election day a. consideration in the delays for this. judge election day made this a lose lose. proposition for the judge either he was. going to alienate one half of the. country or he was going to alienate the. other half so if he had not delayed he. would have faced accus.

from Trump and Trump's supporters that. he was interfering in the election and. his decision to delay essentially drew a. lot of criticism and a lot of concerns. from people across the country. especially on the left that Donald Trump. is above the law that he is not subject. to the same rules as every other. criminal defendant in the country now. the judge I think anticipating these. questions and these concerns sort of. used his opinion as an endorsement of. the court system to work around to.

navigate around the political sphere and. he wanted to remove the sentencing from. this highly charged partisan environment. leading up to the election so he sort of. calls the court system a fair impartial. apolitical institution he he talks about. the sentencing dispelling any notion. that there are political considerations. involved in this really important. sentencing decision in his mind yes the. sentencing has to be done and yes this.

election has to occur but the fact that. they were on this Collision Course. seemed clearly to him to be problematic. he notes that there was this unique time. frame that the case was in and there's. no way around that but he was trying to. essentially it seems remove it from that. unique time frame and do we know Ben. just legally how much the judge is. allowed to even be thinking about the. election when he's making this decision. so we just have no precedent for it and. we just don't know kind of what was in.

his head too about what he thought he. was allowed to do under the law so. instead of sort of making a legal. decision he seemed to sort of make what. was a practical decision without much. consideration to any case law because. quite frankly this has never happened. before okay so judge Maron has had to. contend with a lot of competing. pressures here sentencing and the timing. of that the immunity request and the. timing of that but also the election. tell us about Judge Maran what's his.

approach on the bench P the judge's. politics are interesting so he is a. former registered Republican he's a. former prosecutor he's a Law and Order. guy he's somebody who believes in the. rule of law and so what we have is a. picture of somebody who he is currently. a Democrat as you know almost all judges. are in New York County but he is. somebody who's I think best described as. a moderate and the people we've talked. to who know him consider him that way. now I should note that Trump and his.

lawyers have sought to get the judge. removed from the case because they claim. he has a conflict of interests because. his daughter is a democratic political. consultant and that one of her former. clients was vice president KLA Harris. there's absolutely no reason to suspect. that her work had any impact on his. handling of this case and by the way. this is not just me saying this this is. the New York State Judicial ethics. commission who's ruled on on this matter.

and has determined that the judge does. not have a conflict of interest which is. why the judge has now three times. rejected Trump's efforts to oust him. from the case okay so now he's going to. be sentenced in November after the. election what's going to happen like. what is the potential outcome of this. sentencing truthly we don't. know but a lot of people think that he's. not going to serve a single second in. jail there's an argument that he is who.

he is his political status and his. wealth mean that he's going to wiggle. out of this without any real. consequences but I'll just say a lot of. our reporting colleagues and I have done. suggests that is not a foregone. conclusion there is still very much a. chance that Donald Trump will serve time. for his crimes.

[Music]. [Laughter]. we'll be right. [Music]. back so Ben you said that you think it's. possible Trump could actually get jail. time what makes you say that so just. looking at how other cases like his have. been resolved other false fine business. records cases plenty of people have. served jail time and have gone to. Riker's Island.

and have had to serve weeks or months. behind bars for this crime now his case. does stand alone there's no other case. that we're aware of for falsifying. business records to cover up a sex. scandal but there have been plenty of. falsifying business records cases and. we're able to look at them and we're. able to sort of see where these cases go. and I will also note that judge Maran is. not someone to impose easy punishments. including for white collar offenes and. how's Trump's case fit into all of this.

well he's a firsttime offender he's a. senior citizen he's been convicted of a. crime that's a non-violent crime and so. he has many arguments in his favor that. he should not be incarcerated on the. other hand he's also someone who behaved. poorly in the judge's courtroom he was. subject to a gag order that he violated. repeatedly and he basically showed. pretty broad disdain for the rule of law. and the judge's Authority and so when. you add those those factors in and you.

add in that he's shown No Remorse for. his crimes that he's been convicted of I. think you could have a judge who's just. had to put up with months of trump. behaving badly in his courtroom to say. you know what I'm drawing the line here. and I'm sentencing this man to time. Behind Bars and when you say time Behind. Bars what kind of time are we talking. about Ben we're probably talking less. than a year we're probably talking weeks. or months and some of it could be part. of his probation but I don't think we're.

talking a long sentence here and I don't. expect Donald Trump to end up on Riker's. Island I think he's more likely to be in. a secure safe facility with protection. from the Secret Service okay so Ben play. this out with me so the judge is now. going to sentence after the election. let's say Trump wins the election what. happens then like are we talking about. you know a president elect serving jail. time I think that's highly unlikely I. think that it's unworkable to have.

someone who's the president-elect also. incarcerated it would cause all kinds of. political chaos I mean can you imagine. him picking his cabinet while he's. behind bars right it would be a real. problematic situation that's true but I. think if he were elected I think what. you would see is a delayed situation. where even if he were sentenced on. November 26 as planned the judge would. postpone the serving of that sentence.

until after his second term in office. again we've never had to deal with a. situation like this this judge has never. had to deal with a situation like this. so we don't know exactly but I would be. stunned if the judge actually made him. serve a single second Behind Bars while. he was. president-elect Ben can he pardon. himself I mean if he does become. president I think that there's a lot of. questions of whether he could pardon. himself for the criminal cases he's been. charged with ferally I think that in.

this particular case which is a state. case based out of the Manhattan District. Attorney's Office there's no way he can. pardon himself this case is beyond the. reach of the presidential pardon power. because it is brought by a local. District Attorney's office got it okay. so there's no way he can pardon himself. what happens if he loses if he loses the. election he will still try to appeal his. conviction and that might delay out you. know his sentence even further and he. may not immediately have to go to jail.

or anything like that but it would mean. that his sentence would almost certainly. be served sooner than if he had won and. so obviously he wants to win because he. wants to be president but one of the. potential benefits to him of winning is. that it keeps him out of jail right Ben. it's kind of incredible you know there. have been so many cases against Trump. that he's managed to delay for one. reason or another you know the documents. case the election interference case but. this really seemed like the one that had.

finally caught up with him yet here we. are where even after he was put on trial. and found guilty of 34 felonies he still. managed to delay the. consequences exactly and this was the. one case that sort of dented that legal. Teflon that he's built over decades over. a half century to be honest and all the. time that we hear o Donald Trump is. above the law and Donald Trump the rules.

don't apply to him this is why this is. why people feel that once again he. managed to escape some accountability. now I will say this he will go into the. election as the only former president. and potentially future president to be a. convicted felon and that's not nothing. this is a case that Trump tried. extensively to get delayed and to get. thrown out and yet it didn't the jury a. jury of 12 New Yorkers sat in Judgment.

of him and pretty swiftly came back and. concluded that he was guilty of the 34. felonies he was accused of and there's. no erasing that and so I think that. while there are these concerns and these. laments that Trump is above the law it's. worth remembering that he is also still. at the end of the day a felon right he's. still a felon at the end of the day but. how and when he serves his potential.

time is very much up to voters it seems. right you know it seems like a pretty. rare thing like how many people get a. delay on their possible fouryear. sentence based on how many people like. them exactly everything about Donald. Trump's legal woses everything about. this case is unique and there's no. playbook for something like this this is.

why I think it was such a challenging. decision for the judge to make there are. no easy decisions in this case. whatsoever now I understand the concern. that any kind of special accommodation. for any defendant tarnishes that sense. of fairness in the justice system on the. other hand can you imagine if we had had. a sentencing 7 weeks before election day. potentially a sentencing to jail time. and if that outcome had moved the poles.

had moved the needle in some way then I. think you could have had a judge feel. remorse about that to be inserted into. the election itself is kind of the. opposite of how the justice system is. supposed to. work and so I understand everyone's. concern but at the end of the day this. judge was just not going to have himself. be dis potentially deciding factor in a. presidential election. [Music].

Ben thank you thanks so. [Music]. much we'll be right. back here's what else you should know. today told me you. no I am your. father James Earl Jones whose stage film.

and television career spanned. Shakespeare's rapaic tragedies and the. faceless Menace of Darth Vader died on. Monday he was. 93 Jones was born in Mississippi in. 1931 he fell mute for years after. developing a debilitating stutter I have. no presumptions or no arrogance about my. voice you know you one would think that. I might even be in love with my voice. I'm not cuz it it would be the most. Unfaithful lover I I ever had cuz it. fails me often but he learned to speak.

again and later said that learning to. control his stutter had led to his. career as an actor when I first came. into the theater I followed Sydney P's. generation but he had established the. height and for the rest of us we were. there to establish the breadth of what. young black actors could. do he played roles that dealt with. racial issues becoming one of the first. black actors to appear regularly on. daytime soap operas acting in the. television miniseries Roots and in plays.

by August Wilson it is my responsibility. you understand that a man got to take. care of his family you live in my house. you sleep your behind on my bed clothes. you put my food in your belly because. you are my son you are my flesh and. blood not because I like you it is my. duty to take care of you I owe a respons. he acted in scores of plays nearly 90. television dramas and some 120 movies. playing kings and Generals garbage men.

and Brick. Layers Simba you have forgotten me no. his roles included his voice work. including in the original Star Wars. Trilogy and in The Lion King remember. remember who you. are you are my son and the one true. king. remember who you. are no please please don't leave.

me. Father don't. me today's episode was produced by Diana. win and CLA Tanis sket it was edited by. Lexi Di and Patricia willins with help. from Devin Taylor and Paige cowt. contains original music by Dan Powell. and Diane Wong and was engineered by. Alysa Moxley our theme music is by Jim. brunberg and Ben Lanser of.

wonderly that's it for the daily I'm. Sabrina tavernes see you tomorrow.