A New York judge on Friday granted Donald Trump permission to request the dismissal of a 34-count criminal case in which he was convicted in May of hush money paid to the sex star as a result of his victory in the November 5 presidential election.
New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan has officially delayed Trump's sentencing, which was supposed to take place next Tuesday. Prosecutors with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg this week asked Merchan to consider postponing all proceedings in the case until after Trump, 78, completes his four-year term as president that begins in Jan. 20.
Trump's lawyers, a Republican, said that the case should be dismissed because his involvement while he was president could cause “unconstitutional obstacles” in his administration. Bragg's office said it would oppose the dismissal, but agreed that Trump deserves time to put his case in writing.
Merchan on Friday set a Dec. 2 deadline for Trump to file his motion to dismiss, and gave prosecutors until Dec. 9 to answer. The judge did not set a new sentencing date or indicate how long the trial would last. Merchan also did not say when he would issue a decision on Trump's proposal to repeal it.
Representatives for the Trump campaign and Bragg's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The case stems from a US$130,000 payment, made by Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen to veteran film actress Stormy Daniels, for her silence before the 2016 election about having sex with Trump a decade ago.
Trump denies this.
A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to hide his Cohen returns. It was the first time that a US president – former or sitting – was convicted or charged with a crime.
Trump denied the charge in the case, which he wants to portray as a political attempt by Bragg, a Democrat, to interfere with his campaign.
Trump last week nominated his co-defendants in the hush money case, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, to serve in top roles at the Justice Department during his administration.
Trump faced four felony charges over the months during his run for president.
The case accusing Trump of keeping secret documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate appeared to be legally clear in the four counts against him, given evidence including testimony from aides and a former lawyer, but a judge dismissed the case. in a decision that questioned the legality of appointing special counsel Jack Smith.
Smith appealed that decision, but last week asked for a stay on his request since Trump won the Nov. 5 election. Smith's group had already obtained a similar break in another federal case involving Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Trump and several associates have been indicted in a fraud case in Georgia for similar actions in the 2020 election in that state. The ongoing cases have been stalled as some of the defendants wanted to withdraw the prosecutor.
The Supreme Court's decision on immunity this year could also be difficult for other cases.
As president, Trump would not have the power to close the cases in New York or Georgia because they were filed in federal courts.
Lawrence Douglas, a law professor at Amherst College in Massachusetts, says that although Donald Trump will not be able to pardon himself for the federal charges against him, he will probably not use the time and, as president, he will be able to do so. the federal charges against him will definitely not go to court.
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