NEW YORK– NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s The election victory created a major conundrum for the judge overseeing his criminal case in New York. Can he continue to convict the president-elect, or would this potentially interfere with Trump’s constitutional responsibility to lead the nation?
Court documents made public Tuesday show that Judge Juan M. Merchan effectively did so puts the matter on hold until at least November 19, while he and lawyers on both sides consider what to do next. Trump’s sentencing was tentatively scheduled for November 26.
Trump’s lawyers are urging Merchan to act “in the interests of justice” and toss out the verdict, the first criminal conviction of a former and now future U.S. president.
Prosecutors in Manhattan told Merchan they want to find a path forward that balances the “competing interests” of the jury’s verdict and Trump’s responsibilities as president.
Here are some scenarios for what could happen next:
If Merchan wants to uphold the verdict without disrupting Trump’s presidency, he could choose to delay sentencing until the newly elected president leaves office in 2029.
Trump would be 82 at the end of his second term and more than a decade removed from the events at the heart of the matter.
Trump’s 34-felon conviction for falsifying business records is linked to his efforts to conceal a $130,000 payment during his 2016 presidential campaign to cover porn actor Stormy Daniels’ claims that she had sex with him years earlier had had to suppress, which he denies.
If he decides to wait, Merchan may not be on the bench by then. His current term ends before Trump leaves office.
Another way Merchan could get rid of the case is by granting Trump’s earlier request to overturn the verdict due to a US Supreme Court decision in July, it gave presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution.
The judge had said he would rule on Tuesday, but that was before Trump’s election victory upended the schedule.
The Supreme Court ruling gives former presidents immunity from prosecution for official actions and prohibits prosecutors from using evidence of official actions to prove that their personal conduct violated the law.
Trump’s lawyers claim prosecutors have “tainted” the case with testimony about his first term and other evidence that should not have been allowed. Prosecutors have said the verdict “provides no basis to upset the jury’s verdict.”
The judge could order a new trial — possibly after Trump leaves office — or dismiss the charges entirely.
Merchan could choose to delay the cases until the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules on Trump’s earlier bid to move the case from state court to federal court.
Trump’s lawyers have appealed a Manhattan federal judge’s decision to deny the transfer. Their argument: Trump’s case belongs in federal court, because as a former president he has the right to assert immunity and demand dismissal.
However, waiting for the appeal court ruling could lead to further delays. The court has given prosecutors until January 13 to respond to Trump’s appeal. That’s a week before he is sworn in. Once Trump is in the White House, his legal team could make new arguments around presidential immunity.
Merchan could end the case immediately by overturning Trump’s conviction on 34 crimes, including falsifying company records, and dismissing the charges.
That would mean no conviction or punishment would be imposed, sparing the president-elect from the possibility of prison or other punishment.
Trump’s lawyers insist that throwing out the case is the only way “to avoid unconstitutional impediments” to his ability to govern.
Prosecutors acknowledged that the “unprecedented circumstances” of Trump’s conviction clashed with his election, but also said the jury’s verdict should stand.
Merchan could also choose none of the above options and move to conviction — or at least try, barring an appeal from Trump’s lawyers.
Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University, said the question of whether the case will reach a conviction “could go either way.”
If so, he says, “it probably won’t be a prison sentence.”
Trump’s charges carry a variety of penalties, ranging from a fine or probation to up to four years in prison.
“Any prison sentence would likely be blocked or suspended in some way,” but a lesser sentence “would not likely hinder Trump to any meaningful degree,” Somin said.