Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Tuesday proposed a “novel” idea to preserve Donald Trump's “hush money” conviction, based on a legal tool used in cases of death.
Prosecutors have indicated that Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Marchan may write in the court record that Trump's guilty verdict still stands, but that he could vacate Trump's sentence entirely. .
The unusual legal move also freezes any other action in the case, including an expected appeal, so that President Trump can serve out his second term in the White House.
Mr. Bragg's office acknowledged that “New York state law does not expressly provide for” the use of the bizarre scheme, but asked Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Marchan that “this unique case… He urged the government to consider “new relief measures” due to the current situation.
Prosecutors' idea is based on an Alabama legal concept known as “death commutation,” which allows a conviction to stand even if a person dies before the case goes through the appeals process.
Bragg could instead agree in an 82-page legal filing that Marchan could delay sentencing until after Trump leaves office, or that any future sentence would include no prison time. he suggested.
Trump, 78, was convicted in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels.
His lawyers are pressing him to dismiss the case entirely, arguing that failing to overturn the jury's verdict would unconstitutionally hinder the president-elect's preparations for a second term.
The hush money case was the only one of four criminal cases faced by President Trump that went to trial.
He kept classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election loss to President Joe Biden before the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The federal government's accusations that both were in vain are now on the wane. he was elected president.
A state lawsuit in Georgia accusing him of trying to falsify the 2020 Peach State election results has been delayed for months due to a dispute over a romantic relationship between the local district attorney and a man he hired to lead the prosecution. , I'm stuck.
It was not immediately clear late Tuesday when Judge Marchand would rule on Mr. Bragg's and Mr. Trump's dueling demands.
Trump is scheduled to be inaugurated on January 20th.
