Updated 10:15 a.m. ET — According to a report from CNN, the ruling that was expected from Judge Juan Merchan on Tuesday has been delayed until Nov. 19.
The decision to delay the ruling on whether or not Trump's presidential immunity should rule out evidence in the case and overturn the verdict comes as lawyers for Trump and the district attorney's office prepare to make new arguments.
Original story — Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over President-elect Donald Trump’s criminal trial earlier this year, is expected to issue a ruling that could put Trump closer to being sentenced or blow up the case.
The ruling is on whether evidence shown during the trial should have been blocked from jurors due to presidential immunity.
Merchan is expected to deliver a written opinion on Tuesday, either deciding to throw out the case or push forward to sentencing, Fox News and ABC News reported.
Trump was convicted in the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Brag of 34 felony counts in May.
Shortly after, the Supreme Court ruled that former presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts. That ruling means that evidence related to Trump’s work as president could not be used during the trial.
After the Supreme Court issued its ruling, Trump’s legal team demanded that his conviction be set aside and his sentencing canceled, arguing that jurors should not have heard testimony related to Trump’s communications with former White House communications director Hope Hicks or his former executive assistant and director of White House Operations Madeleine Westerhout.
Prosecutors have said that the Supreme Court’s ruling does not play a role in the evidence shown at trial, and that the material protested by Trump’s lawyers were “a sliver of the mountains” of evidence the jury was shown and considered to find its verdict.
Trump was found to have committed 34 felonies in signing off on a scheme to cover up reimbursements to Michael Cohen, his former attorney and fixer.
Cohen is said to have paid $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the days leading up to the 2016 presidential election so she wouldn’t discuss an alleged sexual encounter with Trump from years prior.
Trump has maintained his innocence, saying he did not falsify business records and never had a sexual relationship with Daniels.
Merchan’s decision will carry a major outcome either way, as Trump is not only the first former president to be found guilty of a felony, but he’s also the first American to be elected president as a felon.