DA suggests judge could permanently halt Trump’s hush money case while upholding his conviction
NEW YORK– Prosecutors are urging a judge not to toss out newly elected President Donald Trump’s criminal conviction, but suggest a willingness to end the case in a way that preserves the verdict while avoiding punishment or a protracted legal battle .
In court documents made public Tuesday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office proposed a series of options to keep the historic conviction on the books, including asking Judge Juan M. Merchan to consider handling the case as he would do that if a suspect dies.
That would essentially put the case in a permanent state of suspended animation. Trump’s conviction would stand, but everything would be frozen, including any appeals. It is unclear whether this option is feasible under New York law.
“As applied here, this Court could similarly terminate the criminal proceedings by recording in the record that the jury’s verdict has abolished the presumption of innocence; that suspect was never convicted; and that his conviction was not affirmed or overturned on appeal because of presidential immunity,” prosecutors wrote in an 82-page filing.
Among the other options prosecutors suggested was delaying sentencing until after Trump leaves office in 2029. However, they were adamant that the conviction should stand, arguing that Trump’s impending return to the White House should not upset a jury’s findings.
The file is expanding the position set out by prosecutors last month. Since then, Trump’s lawyers have urged Merchan to dismiss the case entirely in light of his election.
The Trump team argues that pursuing the case would cause unconstitutional “disruptions” to his upcoming presidential term. The lawyers also cited President Joe Biden’s recent statement Excuse me of his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted for this tax and weapons charges. Biden complained that his son was being unfairly prosecuted for political reasons — and Trump’s lawyers say that was also the case.
It is unclear how quickly Merchan can decide what to do next with the case. Trump, a Republican, takes office on January 20.
His sentencing was scheduled to take place at the end of last month. But after Trump’s election victory on November 5, Merchan halted the proceedings and postponed the sentencing of the former and future president indefinitely so that the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case.
Merchan also postponed a decision on Trump previous offer dismiss the case on grounds of immunity.
Trump has been fighting for months to overturn his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying corporate records. Prosecutors said he tampered with the documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier.
He says this is not the case and denies that there is any wrongdoing. Trump is portraying the case as a political attack concocted by DA Alvin Bragg and other Democrats.
A dismissal would erase Trump’s historic conviction and spare him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison time. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted felon to be elected to office.
Merchan could also decide to uphold the verdict and proceed with sentencing, delaying the case until Trump leaves office, waiting for a federal appeals court to rule on Trump’s parallel attempt to throw the case out of state court. or choose another option.
The hush money case was the only one of Trump’s four criminal charges to go to trial.
Since the election, Special Counsel Jack Smith has ended his two federal cases, which involved Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, has been largely stayed. Trump denies any wrongdoing.