By JENNIFER PELTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge on Tuesday postponed a decision on whether to overturn President-elect Donald Trump’s conviction in his hush money case as prosecutors consider how to proceed in light of last week’s election and his lawyers argue for the dismissal so that you can apply. the country.

The postponement comes at a dramatic and dynamic point in the case, which centered on how Trump accounted for payments to a porn actor before the 2016 election and produced the first conviction of a former commander in chief.

Sentencing had been set for Nov. 26, but prosecutors now say they are re-evaluating and appear open to the possibility that the trial may not go as planned.

“These are unprecedented circumstances,” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo wrote in an email to the court. He said prosecutors must consider how to balance the “competing interests” of the jury verdict and the presidency.

Meanwhile, Trump’s attorney, Emil Bove, argued that the case should be dismissed entirely “to avoid unconstitutional impediments to President Trump’s ability to govern.”

The messages were part of an email chain published Tuesday, when New York Judge Juan M. Merchán was due to rule on an earlier request by Trump’s lawyers to overturn his conviction for a different reason: because of a ruling by the US Supreme Court this summer on the presidential decision. immunity.

Instead, Merchan told Trump’s lawyers that he would halt the proceedings and delay the ruling until at least Nov. 19 so prosecutors can suggest a path forward. Both parties agreed to a one-week postponement.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung announced the delay. He said in a statement that the president-elect’s victory makes “very clear that Americans want an immediate end to the militarization of our justice system, including this case, which should never have been brought.”

Prosecutors declined to comment.

A jury convicted Trump in May of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels in 2016. The payment was to buy her silence about claims that she had sexual relations with Trump.

Trump says they did not have sex, denies any wrongdoing and maintains the prosecution was a political tactic intended to damage his latest campaign. Trump is a Republican. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office brought the case, is a Democrat, as is Merchan.

Just over a month after the verdict, the Supreme Court ruled that former presidents cannot be prosecuted for actions they took while governing the country, and prosecutors cannot cite those actions even to bolster a case focused on purely political issues. personal. conduct.

Trump’s lawyers cited that ruling to argue that the seized jury got some evidence it shouldn’t have, such as Trump’s presidential financial disclosure form and testimony from some White House aides.

Prosecutors disagreed, saying the evidence in question was only “a portion” of their case.