On Tuesday, Manhattan’s elected prosecutor indicated he’s open to holding off the sentencing on corporate fraud charges on which President-elect Donald Trump was convicted earlier this year.
Bragg had previously pushed for a speedy resolution to the case, which Trump has been appealing claiming it is covered by immunity based on his first term as president.
In the latest development, he wrote to Judge Juan Merchan that he “would not oppose” a stay of proceedings that Trump’s lawyers are expected to seek when they file papers to argue that his status as president-elect now requires the convictions to be dismissed.
Such a stay could remain in force until the appeals were fully resolved, a process that even in normal circumstances can take months or years.
Saying that immediate sentencing “would not avoid the new immunity question” Trump’s lawyers plan to raise, Bragg instead asked Merchan to require all filings in the appeal to be complete by early December.
Defense attorney David Schoen, who represented Trump at his second impeachment trial, said Bragg’s move was a good first step — but argued that anything but an outright dismissal of the case is incompatible with the Constitution.
“At the end of the day, the office of the presidency is unique, whoever is holding it. And there's certain considerations that require not having a criminal case pending or even being held over the head of the President,” Schoen said.
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Guilty but not sentenced
Trump was convicted in May on 34 felony counts for what prosecutors said was the falsification of business records to obscure payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, in the run-up to the 2016 election. Prosecutors say the payments were made to cover up a romantic relationship the two had.
The potential sentences range from a fine, probation or up to four years of incarceration, but time behind bars is very unlikely.
Trump was already appealing the case, and a New York appeals court is currently considering whether his case should be moved to a federal court.
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Legal slowdown
Since Trump’s election victory, the other state and federal criminal cases in which he is a defendant have all faced delays.
U.S. Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith asked and was granted holds on proceedings until Dec. 2. That’s when Smith intends to make recommendations on how to dispose of the active prosecution in Washington, D.C. related to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and an appeal in which Smith is seeking to reinstate a dismissed Florida case over Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving office.
Meanwhile, a Georgia appeals court canceled a scheduled December hearing in the prosecution of Trump and several co-defendants in relation to his efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election.
Judges were to hear arguments on whether or not Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis would be removed and the case be handed to another prosecutor for review. Further proceedings in that case are on hold.
Sentencing in the New York case is still scheduled for next week, and it's not clear when Merchan will issue a decision on how the case proceeds.
