A New York judge said Tuesday he will keep former President Donald Trump’s sentencing date of Sept. 18, but set a new timeline for decisions on defense motions.

New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan said he will rule by next week on Mr. Trump’s attempt to boot him from the case. The defense says the judge’s donation to a liberal group and his daughter’s ties to political consultancy work should force his recusal.

Judge Merchan said he would rule on a question about Mr. Trump’s immunity from prosecution on Sept. 16, or 10 days later than initially stated.

Mr. Trump’s lawyers say New York prosecutors ran afoul of the Supreme Court’s finding that presidents enjoy immunity for their official acts.

The defense pointed to evidence in Mr. Trump’s business-record trial in Manhattan that delved into Mr. Trump’s social media posts and activities during his first year as president in 2017.

Prosecutors say the complaint is unfounded, but Judge Merchan delayed sentencing for two months to consider the situation.

Mr. Trump, the GOP nominee for president, faces up to four years in prison on his conviction of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

He is unlikely to face a lengthy term, given his lack of a criminal record and the logistics of sending the Secret Service into prison with him.

Also, the judge might not want to upend the presidential campaign less than two months before the Nov. 5 election.

A Manhattan jury in May said Mr. Trump was guilty of criminally concealing a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Prosecutors said Mr. Trump made the payment through Michael Cohen and concealed it in 2017 through misidentified checks to the lawyer, signaling an intent to violate election laws.

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.