Prosecutors in the New York borough of Manhattan said on Tuesday that President-elect Donald Trump should be allowed to seek the dismissal of the 34-count criminal hush money case while reaffirming their desire to see him sentenced, even if it is delayed until 2029.
Judge Juan Merchan set a Tuesday deadline for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to submit a filing detailing how the case could move forward with Trump set to take back the White House on Jan. 20. Bragg’s office suggested that all sentencing proceedings should be frozen for the time being to set the stage for Trump’s efforts to dismiss the case, according to a letter to the judge.
“The People believe that the Court should set a motion schedule for Defendant’s forthcoming motion to dismiss, which the People intend to oppose,” lawyers for Bragg’s office told Merchan. Prosecutors also conceded that the Nov. 26 sentencing hearing may need to be adjourned, adding “the People would not oppose a defense motion for a stay of further proceedings before this Court while Defendant’s motion is adjudicated.”
But Bragg’s office made it clear that sentencing should continue to be a factor for the president-elect — even if it takes until 2029 or “after the end of Defendant’s upcoming presidential term.”
“Given the need to balance competing constitutional interests, consideration must be given to various non-dismissal options that may address any concerns raised by the pendency of a post trial criminal proceeding during the presidency, such as deferral of all remaining criminal proceedings until after the end of Defendant’s upcoming presidential term,” prosecutors told Merchan.
Merchan, who presided over Trump’s trial earlier this year, was initially poised to rule last week on whether the Supreme Court’s July 1 presidential immunity decision precluded the sentencing from going forward. He delayed his decision by one week to give prosecutors and the defense team more time to explain how they think the next steps should be.
The Supreme Court found in Trump v. United States that former presidents are entitled to some form of immunity from criminal indictments if the alleged conduct falls into the scope of their official duties. Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts for falsifying business records in May surrounding a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels that was made just before the 2016 election.
Trump’s lawyers argued prosecutors introduced inadmissible evidence from when he was a sitting president, and their inclusion of that evidence, following the immunity ruling, was grounds for dismissing the case or requesting a new trial.
Bragg’s office countered on Tuesday that one “corollary of the temporary nature of presidential immunity is that immunity should not lead to consequences that ‘forever thwart[] the public’s interest in enforcing its criminal laws,'” citing a 2000 memorandum from the Justice Department.
The case marked the first criminal trial against a former U.S. president. Trump has denied wrongdoing, including the affair Daniels said she had with him, and described the trial as politically motivated.
Despite the uncertainty over the future of the case, a spokesman for Trump called the developments on Tuesday a “definitive victory” for the future president and the nation.
“The Manhattan DA has conceded that this Witch Hunt cannot continue. The lawless case is now stayed, and President Trump’s legal team is moving to get it dismissed once and for all,” Trump’s Communications Director Steven Cheung said.
Confusion swirled over the status of Trump’s case on Tuesday morning after Bloomberg was one of the first of many outlets to purport that the sentencing had been adjourned, citing a “short note by the court.”
Several questions linger as parties await Merchan’s response to Bragg, such as whether the court will agree to dismiss the case outright or delay sentencing well into the future. Many legal experts have said they could not foresee sentencing taking place at this juncture, with Trump poised to reenter the Oval Office on Jan. 20.
Trump’s New York trial featured prominent figures from his personal and political circles. David Pecker, a former National Enquirer publisher, testified at trial about orchestrating a “catch and kill” scheme to suppress stories that could harm Trump’s 2016 campaign.
The trial also drew attention as Republican lawmakers and Trump allies filled the gallery in a show of support, including prominent figures such as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Trump’s prospective attorney general, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney turned critic, testified during the trial that Trump reimbursed him for the hush money paid to Daniels, with the payments misclassified as legal fees.
Daniels also offered her own testimony, detailing her alleged 2006 encounter with Trump during a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, where they were photographed together.
Trump also has open federal criminal proceedings in Washington, D.C., for election obstruction related to his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and another in Florida over his alleged mishandling of classified documents and efforts to obstruct retrieval of those records from his Mar-a-Lago home. Special counsel Jack Smith, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to head up these investigations, signaled his plans to step down before Trump takes office in addition to unwinding these federal cases.
There is another state case in Georgia charging Trump and several co-defendants over an alleged racketeering conspiracy to subvert the 2020 election results in Fulton County.
Questions remain over the future of this RICO case, especially after the Georgia Court of Appeals decided Monday to postpone oral arguments indefinitely in a planned Dec. 5 hearing that would have hashed out whether District Attorney Fani Willis can remain on the case after facing allegations about an appearance of impropriety.
Legal experts have said there could be an avenue to bring Trump’s other co-defendants to trial, even if the incoming president is unable to be tried at this time in Georgia.
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A previous version of this report said the Trump Nov. 26 sentencing had been adjourned.
