(New York) A New York judge has postponed a decision on whether to overturn President-elect Donald Trump’s conviction in his ‘Stormy Daniels’ bribery case, as prosecutors consider how to proceed since the November 5 election – and that his lawyers are arguing for a dismissal so that the accused can lead the United States.
Posted at 2:26 p.m.
Jennifer Peltz et Michael R. Sisak
Associated Press
The postponement comes at a particularly crucial time in the case, which focused on how Mr. Trump recorded payments to the porn actress before the 2016 presidential election. Found guilty by a jury in May, Mr. Trump became the first former US president to be criminally charged.
Judge Juan M. Merchan was scheduled to pronounce the sentence on November 26. Mr. Trump, 78, faced a fine, probation or prison time of up to four years. But prosecutors now say they are reassessing the situation and may be open to the possibility that proceedings may not proceed as planned.
In an email to the court, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo admitted these were “unprecedented circumstances.” He said prosecutors must consider how to balance the “competing interests” of the jury’s guilty verdict and the U.S. presidency.
Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Emil Bove, meanwhile, argued that the case should be dismissed in its entirety “to avoid unconstitutional impediments to President Trump’s ability to govern.”
The messages were part of a chain of emails released Tuesday, as Judge Merchan was expected to rule on Mr. Trump’s lawyers’ earlier request to overturn the guilty verdict, but for a different reason: because of a ruling this summer from the United States Supreme Court on presidential immunity.
Instead, Judge Merchan told Mr. Trump’s lawyers that he would halt the proceedings and delay his decision until at least November 19, so that prosecutors could suggest a path forward. Both parties accepted this one-week postponement.
Mr. Trump’s campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, said in a statement that the president-elect’s victory on November 5 demonstrates “very clearly that Americans want an immediate end to the militarization of our justice system, including this case, which should never have been brought.”
Prosecutors declined to comment.
Three other cases
Last May, a jury convicted Mr. Trump of falsifying accounting records related to a $130,000 payment to porn actress “Stormy Daniels” in 2016. The payment was intended to buy his silence regarding allegations that she had previously had sex with Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump insists they did not have sexual relations, denies any wrongdoing and maintains that the lawsuits were a political tactic intended to damage his latest campaign. Mr. Trump is a Republican; Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office brought the case, is a Democrat, as is Judge Merchan.
A little more than a month after the guilty verdict, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that former presidents cannot be prosecuted for actions taken while running the country, and prosecutors cannot cite these actions even to support a case centered on purely personal conduct.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers cited the high court’s decision to argue that the New York jury in the case obtained evidence it should not have had, such as the President’s presidential financial disclosure form. millionaire and the testimony of some White House aides.
Prosecutors argue that this evidence was only a “small part” of their case.
Mr. Trump faces three other unrelated criminal trials in various jurisdictions. But federal Justice Department special prosecutor Jack Smith weighed how to end both the 2020 election interference case and the separate classified documents case against Mr. Trump before he took office, a a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The U.S. Department of Justice’s longstanding policy states that sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.
Meanwhile, an election interference case against Mr. Trump in Georgia is largely on hold while he and other defendants appeal a judge’s ruling that allowed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, to pursue the case.
