A New York judge on Friday granted Donald Trump permission to seek dismissal of the criminal case in which he was convicted in May of 34 felony counts involving hush money paid to a porn star in light of his victory in the Nov. 5 presidential election.
New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan formally delayed the sentencing of Trump, which had been scheduled to take place next Tuesday. Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office this week asked Merchan to consider deferring all proceedings in the case until after Trump, 78, finishes his four-year presidential term that begins on Jan. 20.
Lawyers for Trump, a Republican, have argued that the case must be dismissed because having it loom over him while he is president would cause “unconstitutional impediments” to his ability to govern. Bragg’s office said it would argue against dismissal, but agreed that Trump deserves time to make his case through written motions.
Merchan on Friday set a Dec. 2 deadline for Trump to file his motion to dismiss, and gave prosecutors until Dec. 9 to respond. The judge did not set a new date for sentencing or indicate how long proceedings would remain on hold. Merchan also did not indicate when he would rule on Trump’s motion to dismiss.
Representatives for Trump’s campaign and for Bragg’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The case stemmed from a $130,000 US payment, made by Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she has said she had a decade earlier with Trump.
Trump denies the affair.
A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to cover up his reimbursement of Cohen. It was the first time a U.S. president — former or sitting — had been convicted of or charged with a criminal offence.
Trump pleaded not guilty in the case, which he has sought to portray as a politically motivated attempt by Bragg, a Democrat, to interfere with his campaign.
Trump last week nominated his defence lawyers in the hush-money case, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, to serve senior roles at the Justice Department during his administration.
Trump faced four criminal indictments for months while running for president.
The case accusing Trump of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate had been seen as the most legally clear-cut of the four indictments against him, given evidence including testimony of aides and a former lawyer, but the judge dismissed the case in a ruling questioning the legality of appointing special counsel Jack Smith.
Smith appealed that ruling, but last week asked for a pause on the appeal given Trump’s Nov. 5 election win. Smith’s team had already secured a similar pause in another federal case involving Trump efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.
Trump and several associates were indicted in a racketeering case in Georgia over similar 2020 election actions in that state. The outstanding cases have been in limbo, as some defendants sought to disqualify the prosecuting attorney.
The Supreme Court ruling on immunity this year also could complicate some of the cases.
As president, Trump would have no power to shut down the New York or Georgia cases because they were filed in state courts.
Lawrence Douglas, professor of law at Amherst College in Massachusetts, says that while Donald Trump won’t be able to pardon himself on state charges against him, he won’t likely serve time and, as president, he’ll be able to make sure federal cases against him don’t go to trial.