NEW YORK: Donald Trump may seek to dismiss the criminal case in which he was convicted in May of 34 felony counts of making payments to an adult film actress, a judge ruled Friday, with Trump’s sentencing postponed indefinitely in light of his victory. In the US presidential elections scheduled for November 5.
The verdict was scheduled to be pronounced next Tuesday.
Prosecutors in the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg this week asked New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchant to consider postponing all proceedings in the case until after Trump, 78, ends his four-year presidential term, which begins on January 20. 2025.
Lawyers for Trump, a Republican, say the case should be dismissed because having it before him while he is president would cause “unconstitutional impediments” to his ability to govern.
Bragg’s office said it would oppose impeachment, but agreed that Trump deserved the time to make his case through written submissions.
On Friday, Merchan set a deadline of December 2 for Trump to file his motion to dismiss and gave prosecutors until December 9 to respond. The judge did not set a new date for sentencing and did not indicate how long the proceedings would remain pending. The judge also did not indicate when he would rule on Trump’s motion to dismiss.
The case dates back to $130,000 paid by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, to a pornographic film actress in exchange for her silence before the 2016 elections regarding a sexual encounter she said she had had a decade ago with Trump, who denies it.
A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to cover up his compensation to Cohen. This was the first time that a US president – former or sitting – had been convicted or charged with a criminal crime.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case, which he has sought to portray as a politically motivated attempt by Bragg, a Democrat, to interfere in his presidential campaign.
“The American people have issued a mandate to restore him to office and eliminate all remnants of the witch hunt,” Trump campaign spokesman Stephen Cheung said in a statement.
A spokesman for the Prague office declined to comment.
Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years in prison. Before his election, experts said it was unlikely — but not impossible — that Trump would face time behind bars, with penalties such as a fine or probation considered more likely.
Trump’s victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 election made the prospect of a prison sentence or probation more politically difficult and impractical, given that the sentence could have hampered his ability to carry out the duties of the presidency.
He was indicted in three additional state and federal cases in 2023, one related to secret documents he kept after leaving office and two others related to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. He has pleaded not guilty in all three cases.
A Florida-based federal judge in July dismissed the documents case. The Justice Department is now evaluating how to close the case related to the federal election. Trump also faces state criminal charges in Georgia over his attempt to reverse his 2020 loss in that state, but that case remains in limbo.
As president, Trump would not have the authority to close the New York or Georgia cases because they were filed in state courts. His Justice Department may close federal cases.
Last week, Trump nominated defense attorneys in the illicit money case, Todd Blanche and Emil Boff, to hold senior positions in the Department of Justice during his administration.