Manhattan prosecutors delaying Trump’s criminal hush money case
Prosecutors ask judge to consider delaying sentencing in Trump’s hush money case until after he leaves office: How we got here
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office says it opposes a dismissal.
Manhattan prosecutors say that they would oppose a dismissal of President-elect Donald Trump’s criminal hush money case but would be open to delaying sentencing until after he leaves office.
Sentencing had been scheduled for Nov. 26. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was facing a deadline Tuesday to tell New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan how he wanted to proceed after Trump’s election win and before his inauguration Jan. 20.
Merchan must now decide whether to sentence Trump before the inauguration, delay sentencing until he leaves office, order a new trial or dismiss the case altogether.
What happened Tuesday?
In a letter to Merchan filed Tuesday, Bragg’s office said that Trump’s forthcoming presidency isn’t grounds for dismissal. But prosecutors also acknowledged that they are in uncharted legal territory and raised the possibility of deferring sentencing until after Trump completes his second four-year term.
“The People deeply respect the Office of the President, are mindful of the demands and obligations of the presidency, and acknowledge that Defendant’s inauguration will raise unprecedented legal questions,” the letter said. “We also deeply respect the fundamental role of the jury in our constitutional system.
“Given the need to balance competing constitutional interests,” it added, “consideration must be given to various non-dismissal options that may address any concerns raised by the pendency of a post-trial criminal proceeding during the presidency, such as deferral of all remaining criminal proceedings until after the end of Defendant’s upcoming presidential term.”
How we got here
In May, Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a felony, when a New York City jury found him guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 payment to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Trump’s lawyers had argued that the conviction should be nullified, given the Supreme Court’s ruling in July that presidents are immune from prosecution for “official acts” carried out while in office.
Because Manhattan prosecutors used evidence obtained from the Trump White House to make their case, Trump’s lawyers told the judge, the verdict should not be allowed to stand. Merchan was scheduled to issue his ruling on the Supreme Court immunity question on Tuesday.
Trump’s lawyers have also argued that the conviction should be tossed out “to avoid unconstitutional impediments to President Trump’s ability to govern.”
Trump is facing a maximum penalty of up to four years in prison in the hush money case.
But even if Merchan allows Trump’s conviction to stand, it is all but certain that he will not, as a first-time offender and a newly reelected president, be sentenced to jail time.
What about Trump’s other criminal cases?
The hush money case was one of four criminal cases Trump has been facing, and the only one to go to trial. His election victory has put all four in jeopardy.
Jack Smith, the special counsel, is expected to drop both of the federal cases he brought against Trump because of a long-standing Department of Justice policy prohibiting the prosecution of sitting presidents. Trump had been indicted for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election — including his actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol — and for retaining classified documents after leaving office.
Trump’s criminal election interference case in Georgia had already been bogged down in delays. And after the election, the president-elect’s lawyers signaled that his victory means that they will ask the court to delay the case from going to trial until after he leaves office — and that they will challenge it again on the grounds that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution.
What’s next?
As Merchan weighs the next steps, Team Trump is already declaring victory.
“This is a total and definitive victory for President Trump and the American People who elected him in a landslide,” Trump’s spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement to the Associated Press. “The Manhattan DA has conceded that this Witch Hunt cannot continue. The lawless case is now stayed, and President Trump’s legal team is moving to get it dismissed once and for all.”
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Yahoo!News