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Trump’s Hush Money Case Pushed to September Amid Immunity Ruling
A New York judge ruled on Tuesday that Donald Trump’s sentencing for his business fraud conviction will be postponed until September, following a Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity issued on Monday. This delay means that the former president is likely to avoid facing any concrete punishment for his felony conviction over the summer. Meanwhile, Trump’s political prospects have been buoyed by President Joe Biden’s recent debate performance, which has left Democrats questioning whether to consider replacing Biden as their nominee.
Previously scheduled for July 11, Trump’s sentencing date has been pushed to September 18, “if such is still necessary,” according to Judge Juan Merchan. This delay underscores the significant implications of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling, which affirmed that presidents enjoy absolute immunity for their core presidential duties.
Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments. His legal team has since filed challenges to the conviction following the Supreme Court’s ruling, arguing that evidence pertaining to Trump’s official acts should not have been admissible during the trial. This argument, they contend, should invalidate the jury’s guilty verdict.
The Supreme Court’s decision has also cast doubt on other pending legal actions against Trump, including charges related to election subversion, handling classified documents, and alleged interference in Georgia’s election process. The ruling effectively complicates the timeline for any trials before the upcoming November election.
In response to these developments, Trump’s attorneys have emphasized the importance of presidential immunity from prosecution for actions considered part of the president’s official duties. They assert that evidence presented during Trump’s trial, such as communications from his time in office and actions taken as president, should not have influenced the jury’s verdict.
The legal maneuvering and implications of these decisions mark a critical juncture in Trump’s legal battles and political future as the legal process unfolds in the coming months.
TV anchor Rufai Oseni makes headlines as he speaks on fuel subsidy in Nigeria. He shared that Nigeria can have fuel subsidy without the long queues at filling stations.
“When we were still paying subsidies, there were no long queues. We were subsidising. So you can still have a subsidy regime going on, and there will be no long queues because production was close by. Dangote had it. That’s just it. That argument also falls flat.
“The biggest beneficiaries of subsidy are not Nigerians. They are crony capitalists that have big infrastructure, and they do contracts. They have been the biggest beneficiaries of the subsidy,” he said.
Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, speaks to those in the electricity sector about the usual blackouts in the state.
He speaks on ways things can change in the state and how electricity can be provided.
“We need to drop corporate egos, abandon long-standing excuses, and confront the harsh realities obstructing progress in the power sector.”
“We, state governments, used to give excuses that everything is centralised, so the Federal Government has unbundled it now. What have we done in a year and a half?” Sanwo-Olu asked.
“We take two steps forward, we go five steps backward,” he said.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared Thursday, August 20, a work-free day for public servants in the state to mark the Isese Festival.
Speaking on the celebration, he said “Ìṣẹ̀ṣe is not a relic. It is a living expression of our traditions and a celebration of Yoruba spirituality as an important part of Nigeria’s cultural and religious landscape,” he said.
He added “When the drums sound in Lagos on Thursday, they answer drums in Havana, in Salvador, in Port of Spain. Fifty-five million people and counting. Lagos is not observing a local holiday. Lagos is standing at the centre of a global heritage,” Aregbe said.
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