Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicated Tuesday he would oppose President-elect Donald Trump’s motion to dismiss his case.
Bragg suggested Judge Juan Merchan consider delaying remaining proceedings until Trump’s term ends in 2029.
“The People deeply respect the Office of the President, are mindful of the demands and obligations of the presidency and acknowledge that Defendant’s inauguration will raise unprecedented legal questions,” prosecutors wrote. “We also deeply respect the fundamental role of the jury in our constitutional system.”
“No current law establishes that a president’s temporary immunity from prosecution requires dismissal of a post-trial criminal proceeding that was initiated at a time when the defendant was not immune from criminal prosecution and that is based on unofficial conduct for which the defendant is also not immune,” the filing continues.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement that this is “a total and definitive victory for President Trump and the American People who elected him in a landslide.”
“The Manhattan DA has conceded that this Witch Hunt cannot continue,” Cheung said. “The lawless case is now stayed, and President Trump’s legal team is moving to get it dismissed once and for all.”
In May, a Manhattan jury convicted Trump on 34 counts for falsifying business records to reimburse his former attorney Michael Cohen for a nondisclosure agreement with porn star Stormy Daniels. Mechan’s instructions to the jury allowed them to convict Trump without agreeing on the underlying crime prosecutors alleged he falsified records to commit.
The judge also allowed Cohen and Daniels to testify over objections from Trump’s defense attorneys, later denying the defense’s motions for a mistrial over Daniels’ testimony. Trump’s attorneys argued the details in her testimony about the alleged affair would “inflame the jury.”
Bragg first announced his indictment in April 2023, pursuing the case throughout Trump’s campaign.
Congrats to the great work of President Trump’s attys Todd Blanche & Emil Bove in staying the NYC sentencing. Stay tuned for GA updates.
— Steve Sadow (@stevesadow) November 19, 2024
Trump’s sentencing, initially set for days before the Republican National Convention in July, was delayed multiple times after the Supreme Court issued its ruling on presidential immunity.
Merchan halted all deadlines in the case last week in light of Trump’s election victory, delaying his decision on Trump’s motion to toss the jury’s verdict based on the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity.
Prosecutors indicated in the Tuesday filing they would not oppose a continued delay in Trump’s sentencing date, which remains on the calendar for Nov. 26.
“First, as a practical matter, Defendant’s stated plan to pursue immediate dismissal and file interlocutory appeals will likely lead to a stay of proceedings in any event: staying proceedings now until this Court’s resolution of the motion to dismiss would thus avoid unnecessary litigation,” prosecutors wrote. “Second, proceeding to sentencing now would not avoid the new immunity question that Defendant intends to aise.”
