Manhattan prosecutors announced Tuesday that they will oppose President-elect Trump's request to dismiss the criminal hush money case following the White House's victory, court documents show.
However, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (Democratic) in a new letter He said he would be open to delaying Trump's sentencing next week so the justices could receive further explanation on the issue.
Although Mr. Bragg is adamantly opposed to abandoning the historic case altogether, his letter opens the door to “no-fire options,'' such as suspending the judgment until President Trump leaves office in 2029. is left behind.
“The people deeply respect the Office of the President, are mindful of the demands and duties of the office, and recognize that defendant's assumption of office raises unprecedented legal challenges,” Bragg wrote. “We also deeply respect the fundamental role of juries in our nation's constitutional system.”
Mr. Bragg personally signed the application, a departure from the department's typical practice.
Trump's team celebrated the development.
“This is a complete and decisive victory for President Trump and the American people who elected him by a landslide. The Manhattan DA's Office has acknowledged that this witch hunt cannot continue,” Trump campaign spokesman and incoming White House official said. Director of Communications Steven Chan said in a statement.
Judge Juan Melchán, who is overseeing the case, will have to decide whether to postpone the Nov. 26 sentencing, throw out Trump's conviction entirely, or proceed with the sentence despite his election victory. It is being
President Trump was found guilty in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments he made to conceal an alleged affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. But Mr. Trump denies it. Prosecutors said the payments fit into an illegal scheme intended to sway the outcome of the election.
Trump becomes the first former president to be convicted of a felony. Although this crime can carry a prison sentence, many first-time offenders convicted of such crimes receive lighter sentences.
If Trump returns to the White House and is found guilty, he would become the first person with such a criminal record to hold the nation's highest office.
Marchand has not yet determined whether the verdict will survive the Supreme Court's presidential immunity decision. At President Trump's request, the president postponed the verdict and sentencing until after the election.
With voters returning President Trump to the White House, his lawyers renewed their request for a judge to dismiss the lawsuit entirely, citing presidential transition laws and immunity.
“There are strong reasons for discontinuing the request, and ultimately the interests of justice lead us to dismiss the case,” Trump's lawyers wrote in an email to the judge after the election.
The former president's legal strategy has long relied on delaying until after the election. Mr. Trump successfully avoided trial on three other criminal charges and was able to suspend sentencing in New York until voters cast their votes for president.
Trump won the election decisively, sweeping all seven battleground states and making significant gains in areas that had previously been reliably blue.
Since the election, other criminal prosecutions of the president-elect have been frozen, at least temporarily.
A federal judge granted a request by Special Counsel Jack Smith's office to suspend all deadlines in Mr. Trump's federal election overturning case, and another court similarly agreed to reinstate a docket in Florida. The court agreed to suspend Mr. Smith's appeal.
And in Georgia, Dec. 5 oral arguments in President Trump's appeal to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) were canceled without explanation on Monday. Mr Willis asked the court to dismiss the appeal.
Updated at 1:12 p.m.
