Prominent lawyer Alan Dershowitz said Tuesday that President-elect Donald Trump's lawyers should seek a writ of mandamus to stop Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg from prolonging the case.
Mr. Bragg signed a brief opposing a motion by Mr. Trump's lawyers to dismiss the case and instead ask New York Judge Juan Machan to postpone sentencing until 2029, after Mr. Trump leaves office. I asked. Dershowitz accused Bragg of trying to “freeze” the case for political gain. (Related article: 'We are in the land of Banana Republic': Alan Dershowitz says judge should delay Trump's sentence)
“You can't unfreeze a case just like you can't unfreeze a living person. What's the purpose of freezing a case? That's obvious to any lawyer. Now, not a lawyer. “People may not understand why Mr. Bragg would want to freeze the case for four years,” Dershowitz said. “The case is frozen, but until a verdict is reached, President Trump cannot appeal under New York state law. Everyone knows that if Trump appeals, the conviction will be overturned. Ideally, it would be reversed.”
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“There is no crime. They tried to turn a misdemeanor into a felony, and you can't even recite it because it wasn't even a misdemeanor. It was barred by the statute of limitations,” Dershowitz added. Ta. “There's just no crime, but if you postpone the sentence for four years, actually four years and two months, a few things could happen. First, Mr. Trump can't appeal. So there's no A criminal conviction, a jury verdict, will be on his mind for four years during his presidency. That's exactly what Bragg wants, and maybe that's what Marchan wants, too. I don’t think so.”
A Manhattan jury of seven men and five women decided on May 30 that the case, which centered on a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels as part of a non-disclosure agreement, contained three counts of falsifying business records. Trump was convicted of a felony charge. Dershowitz said Trump's lawyers may be able to block the delay.
“This is what I would recommend to Trump's lawyers. I will definitely contact Trump's lawyers and tell them to do that. If they want my assistance, I will also help outline how to write a brief. “Bring me a warrant,'' Dershowitz said. “A writ of mandamus is an unusual application for the Court of Appeals to do what the district court should have done but refused to do.”
Marchand was scheduled to sentence Trump on Nov. 26, but suspended all deadlines on Nov. 12. (Related: 'Totally unfair': Alan Dershowitz slams New York court for upholding gag order against Trump)
“So you filed an order in the Appellate Division and said, “Look, we have a constitutional right to appeal.If Judge Machan does something like this, we have a constitutional right to appeal. It would be a violation of our rights. This is a deliberate ploy, a deliberate effort to block our appeal because they know we will win the appeal.” Showitz said. “So we don't care if you delay your sentence or not. It doesn't really matter. What matters is, let's appeal. Appeal now, regardless of the sentence. Let's appeal. I think the court will do one of two things: It will grant the appeal, which is unusual. I've never heard of such a case. But I've never heard of a case like this either. It would either require them to appeal or send it back to the district court judge and ask him to make a decision within, say, 30 days.”
Dershowitz added, “Even if the judgment is within 30 days, the court will not grant a four-year freeze to avoid the right to appeal.”
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