A New York judge has postponed Donald Trump's sentencing for his "hush money" crimes until after the upcoming US election.
Judge Juan Merchan agreed to a request from Trump's lawyers to delay the sentencing hearing, which had been set for September 18. He rescheduled it for November 26, three weeks after the election.
In May, a jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election campaign.
Judge Merchan wrote he was postponing the sentencing "to avoid any appearance — however unwarranted — that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching presidential election in which the Defendant is a candidate".
"The Court is a fair, impartial, and apolitical institution," he wrote. He added that adjournments for sentencing "are routinely granted, often several times" and there was "no reason why this Defendant should be treated any differently to any other".
The decision is another legal win for the Republican presidential nominee, whose lawyers have successfully delayed two other criminal trials, which both relate to Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the election result.
A fourth criminal case, in which Trump was accused of mishandling classified documents, was thrown out of court by Trump-appointed judge Aileen Cannon in July.
Trump is also appealing against his conviction in the hush money case, after the US Supreme Court ruled in July that ex-presidents had some immunity from criminal prosecution in some circumstances. Judge Merchan said he would rule on that appeal on November 12.
Trump is the first ex-president to be convicted of a crime. He has maintained his innocence, denied ever having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and criticised his prosecution as a politically motivated witch-hunt. The Manhattan district attorney who brought the case, Alvin Bragg, is an elected Democrat.
Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years' prison, but legal experts have said the maximum sentence is highly unlikely in Trump's case.
Other potential penalties include probation, a fine or a conditional discharge, which would require Trump to stay out of legal trouble to avoid additional punishment.
The sentencing delay means Trump could be the American president-elect on sentencing day. However, the winner of the November 5 election will not become president until they are sworn in at the inauguration in January.
