NY DA Open to Trump Hush-Money Case Delay During Presidency
(Bloomberg) -- New York prosecutors told the judge in Donald Trump’s hush money case that they will fight any attempt to dismiss the matter as a result of his reelection but are open to delaying any proceedings while he is in the White House.
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The willingness to delay, included in a letter Tuesday by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, comes as Justice Juan Merchan must decide how the case should proceed. The letter is a concession by Bragg for a potential delay, but also signals he will fight to keep the case alive.
Prosecutors said that they “deeply respect the Office of the President, are mindful of the demands and obligations of the presidency, and acknowledge the defendant’s inauguration will raise unprecedented legal questions,” but added that they “also deeply respect the fundamental role of the jury.”
Trump faces as long as four years in prison after a jury in May found him guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for payments to an adult film star before the 2016 election. But his lawyers are hoping to toss out the case as well as three other federal and state criminal prosecutions before his inauguration in January.
Trump’s attorney said in a letter to the judge last week that there are strong arguments for dismissal, including the US Supreme Court’s July decision on presidential immunity in criminal cases.
Trump has maintained his innocence. His spokesman Kevin Cheung said the president-elect will now move to dismiss the case “once and for all.”
“This is a total and definitive victory for President Trump and the American People who elected him,” Cheung said in a statement. “The Manhattan DA has conceded that this Witch Hunt cannot continue.”
The US Justice Department is poised to drop his two federal cases and another state case in Georgia has been at a standstill while an appellate court reviews if the DA there should be disqualified because of her relationship with another prosecutor.
The Manhattan case is the only one to go to trial and end in conviction. As president, Trump cannot pardon himself in the state hush-money case as he can in the federal cases.
Bragg said in his letter that he anticipates the judge will allow Trump to file a formal motion to dismiss, and that prosecutors should be allowed to respond by Dec. 9. Bragg said Trump’s argument that he can’t be prosecuted as president-elect has no bearing on the state’s case after a Manhattan jury unanimously found him guilty.
“No current law establishes that a president’s temporary immunity from prosecution requires dismissal of a post-trial criminal proceeding that was initiated at a time when the defendant was not immune from criminal prosecution and that is based on unofficial conduct for which the defendant is also not immune,” Bragg’s prosecutors said.
(Updates with comment from Trump spokesman.)
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