A judge has postponed the sentencing of Donald Trump in his hush money case until after the 5 November presidential election.
Trump, the Republican nominee for president, had been due to be sentenced in the criminal case on 18 September.
However, Manhattan Judge Juan M Merchan has now postponed that date to 26 November, writing that he wanted to avoid the unwarranted perception of a political motive.
“The imposition of sentence will be adjourned 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,” he wrote.
“The court is a fair, impartial and apolitical institution.”
He was found guilty of covering up his then lawyer’s $130,000 (£99,000) payment to porn star Stormy Daniels for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she says she had with Mr Trump a decade earlier.
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Image: Stormy Daniels in 2018. Pic: Reuters
Trump, 77, denies the encounter and has vowed to appeal the verdict once he is sentenced.
Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years in prison, although punishments such as fines or probation are more common.
His lawyers had pushed for the delay arguing that sentencing him in the final weeks of his campaign to retake the White House would amount to election interference.
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How the US election system works
They also argued there would not be enough time before the planned sentencing date for the defence to potentially appeal the judge’s forthcoming ruling on their request to overturn the criminal conviction following the US Supreme Court‘slandmark presidential immunity ruling.
The Supreme Court found that presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for their official acts in relation to a separate case Trump faces over his role in the 6 January riots in 2021.
Judge Merchan said he now plans to rule on that motion on 12 November – another delay from a previous 16 September date.
Responding to the judge’s ruling, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung insisted the case should be dismissed altogether.
“There should be no sentencing in the Manhattan DA’s Election Interference Witch Hunt,” Mr Cheung said in a statement.
The decision to delay came as Trump left the campaign trail to attend a separate court hearing on Friday.
The hearing saw his lawyer urge an appeals court to throw out a $5m (£3.8m) verdict finding him liable for sexually abusing the writer E Jean Carroll in a department store in New York in the mid-1990s.
He was also found liable for defaming her after she wrote about the incident.
His lawyer John Sauer argued at the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan that the original trial judge should not have taken evidence from other women who claimed the Republican presidential nominee sexually mistreated them decades ago.
Mr Sauer called it “a quintessential ‘he said, she said’ case” brought by a woman with a political motive to hurt Trump, referring to the fact that Ms Carroll is a Democrat.
At a news conference at Trump Tower after the hearing, Trump told reporters he was appealing a “ridiculous verdict”, insisting he had “never met” Ms Carroll.
The upcoming debates are seen as potentially pivotal. The race for the White House is tight after Democrat support surged following President Joe Biden’s decision to quit the contest in favour of Ms Harris in July.
Some polls have even put the Democrat ahead. She would become the first female president as well as the first woman of black and South Asian descent to hold the Oval Office if she won.
Donald Trump, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Bill Clinton are among high-profile figures pictured in a new selection of photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, released by Democrats in Congress.
Warning: This article contains images of a sexual nature that some readers may find offensive.
An initial tranche of 19 photos was shared on Friday, and all of the people whose faces had not been redacted were identified by Sky News. They have been contacted for comment.
A second batch of dozens of photos was released the same day, including one of former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and another of Epstein himself in the bath.
Image: Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Jeffrey Epstein in the bath. Pic: @OversightDems
The photos were shared by House Oversight Committee Democrats, who said they are reviewing more than 95,000 images from the estate.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of those pictured in the images released on Friday and the context surrounding the photos is not known.
Mr Barak told the New York Times this week: “I now deeply regret having any association with him.
“However, not any point in my dealings with him I did ever witness any improper behaviour and certainly I never participated in anything like that.”
In one image, Mr Trump is seen with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve.
Image: Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve. Pic: @OversightDems
Two further photos show the US president with women whose faces are redacted.
One image is black and white and shows him with six women; three on either side of him. The other is out of focus, and shows him sitting alongside an unidentified woman.
Image: Mr Trump alongside six unidentified women Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Mr Trump with an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems
Speaking after Epstein took his own life in jail in 2019, Mr Trump admitted knowing Epstein, but added: “I had a falling out with him. I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”
In July, the White House also released a statement saying Epstein had been banned from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for acting like a “creep”.
When asked about the latest release of Epstein material at the White House on Friday, Mr Trump said he “knows nothing about it” and that the disgraced financier “has photos with everybody”.
Image: Bill Clinton with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett’s wife Jane Slagsvol. Pic: @OversightDems
In another photo released by Democrats, Bill Clinton is seen with Epstein and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as singer Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett’s wife Jane Slagsvol.
In 2019, a spokesperson for the former US president said he had “not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade” and “knows nothing about the terrible crimes”.
Further images show Epstein with long-time Trump ally, Steve Bannon. In one he sits across from him at his desk, while in another the men are seen side-by-side taking a selfie in a mirror.
Image: Jeffrey Epstein with long-time Trump ally Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
Mr Bannon appeared again in the later batch of images, photographed alongside Noam Chomsky, an American professor perhaps best known for his political activism.
Image: American professor Noam Chomsky and Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
Hollywood filmmaker Woody Allen appears in four photos; two of them taken with Epstein.
Image: Woody Allen with Jeffrey Epstein and an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Woody Allen and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
In another, Allen is photographed with Mr Bannon, while one more shows him sat with Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New, seemingly on a private plane.
Image: Woody Allen and Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New. Pic: @OversightDems
Speaking to The Times in September, Allen said he had been to dinner at Epstein’s home, but suggested he was unaware of the nature of his crimes.
Allen said: “He told us he’d been in jail and that he had been – I can’t remember the word – but that he’d been falsely put in jail in some way.”
Meanwhile, Mr Summers told the Harvard Crimson that his former association with Epstein was “a major error of judgement”.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then Prince Andrew, is seen just once, alongside tech billionaire Bill Gates. Epstein is not pictured. The original photo at a malaria summit also shows the then Prince Charles but he is cropped out of the version released by the Democrats. It is not clear why the picture has been included in the Epstein files.
Image: Bill Gates with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then a prince. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Bill Gates talks to the then Prince Andrew and then Prince Charles during a malaria summit in London on 18 April 2018. Pic: Reuters
Andrew relinquished his titles in October amid continued controversy over his friendship with Epstein, but said at the time: “I vigorously deny the accusations against me”.
Mr Gates himself appears twice more, once alongside Epstein’s long-time pilot, Larry Visoski, and once in a framed photo which appears in an image above a black cabinet.
Image: Bill Gates and Epstein’s long-time pilot, Larry Visoski. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: A photo released in the Epstein files shows Bills Gates’s picture framed above a cabinet. Pic: @OversightDems
In 2021, the tech billionaire told the New York Times he had met Epstein to discuss philanthropy and Gates’s spokeswoman said he regretted ever meeting him.
The following year Mr Gates told the BBC: “I made a mistake ever meeting with Jeffrey Epstein.
“Any meeting I had with him could be viewed as almost condoning his evil behaviour. So, that was a mistake.”
Another photo shows British entrepreneur Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen, an American engineer, inventor, and businessman.
Image: Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen. Pic: @OversightDems
Epstein is seen with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, in one more image.
Image: Epstein with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz. Pic: @OversightDems
Mr Dershowitz said he fell out with Epstein after making a plea deal for him in 2007, leading to his conviction.
He told the Harvard Crimson in November: “Jeffrey Epstein despised me after I had made the deal. Epstein and I did not get along personally after I represented him and helped get the deal.”
Emirati businessman Ahmed bin Sulayem is also among those pictured, appearing twice in the second cache of photos.
Image: A picture of Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem released from the Epstein files. Pic: @OversightDems
A number of images of a sexual nature appear in the first cache.
One shows a bowl of novelty condoms with a caricature of Trump’s face, each one bearing the phrase “I’m HUUUUGE!” A handwritten sign reads: “Trump condom $4.50.”
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
Various sex toys are also featured in pictures, including a glove with ribbed fingers, and a safety notice from a “jawbreaker” gag warning of the risk of injury or death.
Many of the newer batch of photos appear to show parts of Epstein’s properties, including a toilet, various service areas, and a small beachfront construction project.
Among the photos are several additional images which are thought to be from the disgraced financier’s private island, Little Saint James, showing a dental suite previously seen in an earlier release of pictures.
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
The images, obtained from the Epstein estate, were released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee in a bid to pressure the US Justice Department to release the full Epstein files.
President Trump signed a bill in November compelling the department to release case files within 30 days, in a U-turn after he opposed the bill for months. The end of that window is Friday 19 December.
The images released on Friday were described by Democrats as being “of the wealthy and powerful men who spent time with Jeffrey Epstein” and “photographs of women and Epstein properties”.
A spokesperson for the Republican-led House Oversight Committee accused the Democrats of “cherry-picking photos and making targeted redactions” to create a “false narrative” about Donald Trump.
“Democrats’ hoax against President Trump has been completely debunked,” they added.
Donald Trump, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Bill Clinton are among high-profile figures pictured in a new selection of photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, released by Democrats in Congress.
This article contains images of a sexual nature that some people may find offensive.
Sky News has identified all of the people whose faces have not been redacted in the images. They have been contacted for comment.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of those pictured and the context surrounding the 19 photos is not known.
In one image, the US president is seen with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve.
Image: Donald Trump, Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
Two further photos show Mr Trump with women whose faces are redacted.
One image is black and white and shows him with six women; three on either side of him. The other is out of focus, and shows him sitting alongside an unidentified woman.
Image: Mr Trump alongside six unidentified women Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Mr Trump with an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems
Speaking after Epstein took his own life in jail in 2019, Mr Trump admitted knowing Epstein, but added: “I had a falling out with him. I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”
In July, the White House also released a statement saying Epstein had been banned from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for acting like a “creep”.
Image: Bill Clinton with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett’s wife Jane Slagsvol. Pic: @OversightDems
In another photo released by Democrats, Bill Clinton is seen with Epstein and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as singer Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett’s wife Jane Slagsvol.
In 2019, a spokesperson for the former US president said he had “not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade” and “knows nothing about the terrible crimes”.
Further images show Epstein with long-time Trump ally, Steve Bannon. In one he sits across from him at his desk, while in another the men are seen side-by-side taking a selfie in a mirror.
Image: Jeffrey Epstein with long-time Trump ally Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
Hollywood filmmaker Woody Allen appears in four of the photos; two of them taken with Epstein.
Image: Woody Allen with Jeffrey Epstein and an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Woody Allen and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
In another, Allen is photographed with Bannon, while one more shows him sat with Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New, seemingly on a private plane.
Image: Woody Allen and Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New. Pic: @OversightDems
Speaking to The Times in September, Allen said he had been to dinner at Epstein’s home, but suggested he was unaware of the nature of his crimes.
Allen said: “He told us he’d been in jail and that he had been – I can’t remember the word – but that he’d been falsely put in jail in some way.”
Meanwhile, Summers told the Harvard Crimson that his former association with Epstein was “a major error of judgement”.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then Prince Andrew, is seen just once, alongside tech billionaire Bill Gates. Epstein is not pictured. The original photo at a malaria summit also shows the then Prince Charles but he is cropped out of the version released by the Democrats. It is not clear why the picture has been included in the Epstein files.
Image: Bill Gates with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then a prince. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Bill Gates talks to the then Prince Andrew and then Prince Charles during a malaria summit in London on April 18, 2018. Pic: Reuters
Andrew relinquished his titles in October amid continued controversy over his friendship with Epstein, but said at the time: “I vigorously deny the accusations against me”.
Gates himself appears twice more, once alongside Epstein’s long-time pilot, Larry Visoski, and once in a framed photo which appears in an image above a black cabinet.
Image: Bill Gates and Epstein’s longtime pilot, Larry Visoski. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: A photo released in the Epstein files shows Bills Gates’s picture framed above a cabinet. Pic: @OversightDems
In 2021, the billionaire told the New York Times he had met Epstein to discuss philanthropy and Gates’s spokeswoman said he regretted ever meeting him.
A year later, Gates told the BBC: “I made a mistake ever meeting with Jeffrey Epstein.
“Any meeting I had with him could be viewed as almost condoning his evil behaviour. So, that was a mistake.”
Another photo shows British entrepreneur Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen, an American engineer, inventor, and businessman.
Image: Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen. Pic: @OversightDems
Epstein is seen with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, in one more image.
Image: Epstein with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz. Pic: @OversightDems
Dershowitz said he fell out with Epstein after making a plea deal for him in 2007, leading to his conviction.
He told the Harvard Crimson in November: “Jeffrey Epstein despised me after I had made the deal. Epstein and I did not get along personally after I represented him and helped get the deal.”
A number of images of a sexual nature also appear in the cache.
One shows a bowl of novelty condoms with a caricature of Trump’s face, each one bearing the phrase “I’m HUUUUGE!” A handwritten sign reads: “Trump condom $4.50.”
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
Various sex toys are also featured in pictures, including a glove with ribbed fingers, and a safety notice from a “jawbreaker” gag warning of the risk of injury or death.
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
The images were released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, which obtained them from the Epstein estate.
Democrats said the files included tens of thousands of photos and said more would be released in the coming days.
They were described as “images of the wealthy and powerful men who spent time with Jeffrey Epstein” and “photographs of women and Epstein properties”.
A spokesperson for the Republican-led House Oversight Committee accused the Democrats of “cherry-picking photos and making targeted redactions” to create a “false narrative” about Donald Trump.
“Democrats’ hoax against President Trump has been completely debunked,” they added.
The man accused of killing right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk has appeared in person at court for the first time.
Tyler Robinson, 22, from Utah, is charged with aggravated murder in relation to the shooting of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem.
Image: Charlie Kirk pictured in December 2024. Pic: Reuters
Video of the incident showed Kirk, 31, and a staunch ally of Donald Trump, reaching up with his right hand after a gunshot was heard as blood came out from the left side of his neck. He died shortly after.
Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.
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How the Charlie Kirk shooting unfolded
On Wednesday’s appearance at Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Robinson arrived in court with restraints on his wrists and ankles and wearing a dress shirt, tie and slacks.
According to the Associated Press, he smiled at family members sitting in the front row of the courtroom, where his mother teared up and wiped her eyes with a tissue.
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He made previous court appearances via video or audio feed from jail.
Image: Pic: AP
The shooting happened during Kirk’s “prove me wrong” series, which saw the father of two visit campuses and debate contentious subjects; in this case, he was discussing mass shootings.
Prosecutors say the bullet which struck Kirk’s neck “passed closely to several other individuals”, including the person questioning him as part of the event.
Image: President Trump comforts Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika at his memorial service in Arizona in September. Pic: Reuters
A charging document about Robinson from September includes incriminating texts sent between the alleged shooter and his roommate after Kirk’s death.
Judge Tony Graf also heard arguments on Wednesday about whether cameras and media should be allowed in the courtroom, with Robinson’s lawyers and the Utah County Sheriff’s Office asking for them to be banned.
Mr Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, has called for full transparency and said “we deserve to have cameras in there”.
The judge has already made allowances to protect Robinson’s presumption of innocence before a trial, agreeing that the case has drawn “extraordinary” public attention