Judge delays decision on Trump appeal of business fraud case

Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan delayed by one week his decision on whether to toss President-elect Donald Trump’s recent criminal conviction. A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of business fraud in May. Trump pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. His legal team moved that the charges against him be dismissed based on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling this summer that defined the boundaries of presidential immunity.

Why did Merchan delay his decision? In his decision Tuesday, Merchan said he was granted a request made by prosecutors to give them more time to decide what they wanted to do with the case. Trump’s legal team also asked for Merchan to delay his decision, as complicated legal questions about the president-elect's executive immunity still awaited resolution—Merchan said their letter would be placed on file. Merchan asked prosecutors to give him their proposal for how he should handle the case going forward by 10 a.m. on Nov. 19.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta and Leo Briceno’s report about how Trump’s conviction widened political divides in the United States in the days immediately following the jury’s decision.