Donald Trump’s hush money sentencing is called off
Donald Trump’s sentencing in his New York hush money case has been thrown out as the court decides how to proceed after his stunning re-election victory.
According to a brief note from the court, the sentencing scheduled for later this month on November 26 has been ‘postponed’ indefinitely.
It comes as Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and his prosecutor deputies argued that the case against the newly elected president should continue. But they also stunningly acknowledged that they may need to pause the matter to have more time to consider their next steps.
‘We wouldn’t be against it [Trump’s] request for postponement of further proceedings” while they await a decision on whether the case will be dismissed, prosecutors wrote in their filing Tuesday.
The Trump team immediately declared victory after the prosecutor’s confession.
“This is a total and definitive victory for President Trump and the American people who elected him in a landslide,” said communications director Steven Cheung.
“The Manhattan district attorney has admitted that this witch hunt cannot continue. The lawless case is now stayed and President Trump’s legal team is working to have the case dismissed once and for all.”
Judge Juan Merchan is currently weighing whether the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on presidential immunity and the outcome of the presidential election apply to the case, and has not yet made a decision on whether to pause the proceedings.
Trump faced a prison sentence of up to four years, although many experts say it is unlikely the first offender would receive jail time, even before his stunning election victory two weeks ago.
Donald Trump’s conviction in his New York hush money case has been called off as the court decides how to proceed
In May, a jury in New York found the now incoming president guilty of 34 counts of falsifying company records to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.
In May, a jury in New York found the now incoming president guilty of 34 counts of falsifying corporate records to silence porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Lawyers for the president-elect argue that the case should be dismissed outright.
Last week, Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove called for a postponement and dismissal of the case in a filing.
They said it, among other things, creates “obstacles” to Trump’s ability to govern.
Merchan is expected to rule on the Trump team’s argument that the former president’s conduct entitled him to post-ruling immunity protections.
The 6-3 ruling by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority came in July, after the trial.
The ruling established that the President of the United States has immunity from prosecution for official acts.
“The president does not have immunity for his unofficial actions, and not everything the president does is official. The president is not above the law,” the justices led by Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority.
“But under our system of separated powers, the president may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official actions. That immunity applies equally to all occupants of the Oval Office.”
Trump celebrated the decision, writing on Truth Social: “Great victory for our Constitution and democracy. Proud to be an American!’
Trump’s team has already used the ruling, which outlines sweeping areas of “official” conduct protected from prosecution while a president is in power, to argue that the case should be thrown out.
Among the evidence shown at the trial were meetings at the White House between Trump and former fixer Michael Cohen, who was a key witness for the prosecution.
Stormy Daniels was at the center of the hush money case that took place this spring
Daniels claimed she and Trump had sex, which he has denied
It comes as Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg had a Nov. 19 deadline to argue how the case against the newly elected president should proceed
Trump has handpicked his personal criminal defense attorneys to head the Justice Department
Cohen demanded repayment of ‘hush money’ paid to porn star Stormy Daniels. Cohen paid the porn star $130,000 weeks before the 2016 election and got his money back.
Daniels claimed she and Trump had sex a decade earlier, which he has denied.
Meanwhile, Trump has selected his personal criminal defense attorney Todd Blanche as his deputy attorney general and added other attorneys who have represented him in senior positions at the Justice Department.
Blanche, who defended the 78-year-old in his hush money trial in New York, would be Matt Gaetz’s No. 2 at the Justice Department and oversee day-to-day operations.
“I am pleased to announce that Todd Blanche will serve as Deputy Attorney General in my Administration,” Trump announced Thursday evening.
“Todd is an outstanding attorney who will be a critical leader at the Department of Justice, fixing what has been a broken justice system for far too long.”
Trump praised the 50-year-old’s experience prosecuting gangs and being by his side during the Manhattan trial, in which he was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying corporate records.
Trump has chosen his personal criminal defense attorney Todd Blanche (right) as his deputy attorney general
Emil Bove (left), another lawyer on the hush money trial team, was given the role of Chief Deputy Assistant Attorney General
Emil Bove, another lawyer on the hush money trial team, was given the role of chief deputy attorney general.
John Sauer, the attorney in Trump’s Supreme Court immunity case, was chosen as attorney general.
The president-elect made the move as Republicans appeared increasingly skeptical that Gaetz’s nomination would pass the Senate.
Lawyers for the president-elect had argued that the case should be dismissed outright
Gaetz had been the subject of a yearslong House Ethics Committee investigation that ended Wednesday after his abrupt resignation from Congress, a day after Trump shockingly nominated him as the nation’s top law enforcement official.
His departure comes after allegations resurfaced Thursday about a woman who allegedly testified before the committee that Gaetz had sex with her when she was 17.
The FBI had investigated similar claims against Gaetz, but the DOJ chose not to charge him over claims that he sex trafficked a minor.
Trump’s choice of the embattled former congressman to oversee the Justice Department, FBI, DEA, ATF and related agencies has shocked Republicans and Democrats.
And the bomb claims could derail his hopes of taking over as attorney general.