Prosecutors in Trump NY criminal case signal they won’t oppose delay
Republished from Kentucky Lantern
WASHINGTON — Consequences for President-elect Donald Trump’s guilty conviction in a New York state case will be years away, as prosecutors signaled they will not oppose suspending the lawsuit while the incoming 47th president carries out his four years in the Oval Office.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg wrote Tuesday that he will fight Trump’s request to toss the case altogether. But Bragg said he will not get in the way of a stay, or pause, on the proceedings.
“Given the need to balance competing constitutional interests, 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,” Bragg wrote in a memo that had been due Tuesday to New York Judge Juan Merchan.
Bragg requested that motions be due Dec. 9. Trump still has a criminal sentencing date on the calendar for Nov. 26, unless Merchan orders otherwise.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung declared “a total and definitive victory” in a statement issued shortly after Bragg’s letter became public.
“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,” said Cheung.
History-making conviction
Trump, the first former president to become a convicted felon, was found guilty in May of 34 felonies for falsifying business records related to paying off porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election to hide a decade-old sexual encounter with her at a Lake Tahoe golf club.
The likely delay of Trump’s sentencing while he serves as president brings to a close, if temporarily, the only one of Trump’s criminal cases that went to trial.
The case, brought by Bragg’s office, was among four criminal cases the then-former president faced as he campaigned to again occupy the Oval Office. Trump also faced several civil lawsuits and now stares down roughly half a billion dollars in damages for committing fraud, defamation and sexual abuse.
As Trump readies to take the oath of office in just two months, U.S. Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith’s office is also winding down its two federal cases against Trump, as the department does not prosecute sitting presidents.
The federal cases include fraud and obstruction charges stemming from Trump’s actions to undermine his 2020 election loss, which culminated in a violent attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The other case, appealed by Smith after a federal judge tossed it, revolved around charges that the then-former president unlawfully took and stockpiled classified documents at his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate upon leaving the White House.
Not the first delay in NY
Each of the 34 class E felonies Trump is convicted of carries a penalty of up to four years, according to the New York penal code.
Trump’s sentencing date was twice delayed. Merchan granted Trump’s request in September to delay the criminal sentencing until after November’s presidential election.
Merchan had already delayed Trump’s initial July sentencing date following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision ordering that former presidents are immune from criminal charges for core constitutional duties, and presumed immune for other actions while in office. The court’s opinion also brought into question what types of evidence can be admitted in criminal cases against former presidents.
Trump asked Merchan to “set aside” the guilty verdict almost immediately after the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling. Merchan has yet to rule on the motion.
New York prosecutors and Trump’s defense team on Nov. 12 jointly asked Merchan to delay all proceedings while the prosecutors decide if and how their case would proceed following Trump’s election victory.
Last updated 3:39 p.m., Nov. 19, 2024
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