NEW YORK, July  2, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - New York prosecutors are open to
delaying Donald Trump's sentencing for covering up hush money payments after he
moved to toss his conviction following the US Supreme Court's immunity ruling,
according to a filing published Tuesday.

       The United States' top court ruled Monday that Trump enjoys some immunity
from prosecution as a former president, a decision also set to delay his trial
for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election.

       Hours after the ruling was announced, Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche said in a
letter to the New York court that the immunity ruling vindicated Trump's
position that he should not be judged for his "official acts," and reiterated
his call for the conviction to be set aside.

       "Although we believe defendant's arguments to be without merit, we do not
oppose his request for leave to file and his putative request to adjourn
sentencing," Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg said in the filing.

       It is the judge in the New York case who will ultimately decide any delay
to the sentencing, currently scheduled for July 11.

       The conviction in New York in May made Trump the first former US president
ever convicted of a crime. He was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying
business records to cover up hush money payments over his alleged affair with
an adult film star in the run-up to the 2016 election.

       Trump, in posts on Truth Social, welcomed the Supreme Court immunity
ruling, calling it a "big win for our Constitution and democracy."

       The ruling comes four months ahead of the presidential election in which
Trump is the Republican candidate to take on Democrat Joe Biden.

       Facing four criminal cases, Trump has been doing everything in his power to
delay the trials until after the election.