Prosecutors leave Trump's attempt to delay sentencing in hush money case to the judge | Trials against Donald Trump

The prosecutors who secured Donald Trump's historic conviction for a serious crime in May did not explicitly object to the former US president's attempt to delay his sentencing until after the November 5 election.

In a letter to Judge Juan Merchan on Monday, prosecutors for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg acknowledged that Trump has the right to appeal an upcoming ruling on his immunity from prosecution, saying they left it to Merchan to decide whether a stay of sentencing was warranted.

“We rely on the court to determine whether an adjournment is warranted,” prosecutors wrote in the Aug. 16 letter. “People are prepared to appear for sentencing whenever the court sets a later date.”

Earlier this week, the Republican presidential candidate's defense attorneys had asked Merchan to postpone the sentencing hearing scheduled for September 18 because he had “blatant intentions to influence the election.”

They also argued that there would not be enough time before the verdict for the defense to potentially appeal Merchan's ruling on Trump's motion to overturn the conviction, given that the U.S. Supreme Court had issued a landmark ruling on presidential immunity. The judge is scheduled to rule on that motion on September 16.

The Supreme Court's 6-3 decision, which relates to another criminal case against Trump, said presidents cannot be prosecuted for their official acts and evidence of presidents' official acts cannot be used as evidence in criminal cases involving unofficial acts.

Merchan postponed Trump's sentencing, originally scheduled for July 11, to give him the opportunity to present his arguments that the ruling requiring the hush money should be overturned.

Prosecutors say their case concerns Trump's personal conduct, not his official actions.

However, in their letter to Merchan, they wrote that the prospect of Trump immediately appealing the judge's immunity decision could mean that a possible September 18 verdict would be delayed anyway, after “significant public safety and logistical steps” had already been taken to prepare for Trump's court appearance.

Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, said in a statement: “There should be no condemnation in this election interference witch hunt.”

In the first criminal trial of a US president, Trump was found guilty on May 30 of falsifying business records. He had used the money to cover up the payment of $130,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels because she had kept quiet before the 2016 election about a sexual experience that she said she had had with Trump ten years earlier.

Trump denies the encounter and has announced that he will appeal the verdict after his conviction.

If Trump wins the White House, he could potentially order the Justice Department to drop the election interference charges against him, but he would not have the power to drop the case in New York state or an election interference case in Georgia.