Topline

Manhattan prosecutors opposed President-elect Donald Trump’s effort to have his conviction on 34 felony counts thrown out because of his presidential win, but said in a filing Tuesday they would be fine with his sentencing being delayed until after Trump leaves office—or just ending the case without him ever being sentenced at all.

Key Facts

What To Watch For

Judge Juan Merchan, who’s overseeing the case, is still deliberating on whether to grant Trump’s multiple requests to throw his conviction out. In addition to arguing his impending presidency should lead the case to be dismissed, Trump has also argued that it should be thrown out based on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling giving him some immunity from criminal charges. Prosecutors have also opposed that request, saying the conduct at issue in the indictment isn’t within the scope of his official duties, which, under the Supreme Court’s ruling, means it can still be prosecuted. Even if some of the evidence in the case concerned official acts, prosecutors argued, their case was still strong enough for Trump to have been convicted without it. It’s unclear when and how Merchan will rule, though it will likely be before Trump takes office. Even if Merchan does uphold the conviction and rule Trump could still be sentenced, however, with just weeks to go before Trump’s inauguration, it’s unlikely Trump’s sentencing would take place at this point before he goes to the White House, given the short timeline.

Chief Critic

Trump’s transition team has not yet responded to a request for comment on the DA office’s filing, but Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and broadly decried the criminal cases against him as “witch hunts.” The president-elect has broadly argued his election should nullify all the legal proceedings against him, and his spokesperson Steven Cheung previously praised Merchan’s ruling postponing Trump’s sentencing as a “decisive win” for the president-elect.

Key Background

Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in May following a weekslong trial, becoming the first sitting or former president to be convicted of a crime. He was indicted based on hush money payments his ex-attorney made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, which Trump then reimbursed Cohen for through a series of checks paid throughout 2017. Prosecutors successfully argued those payments were falsely labeled as being for legal services. While Trump was initially scheduled to be sentenced in July, his lawyers managed to postpone the sentencing until after the election in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling granting him some immunity. The sentencing date was pushed to September and then until November 26, as Merchan ruled he would delay it until after the election in order to avoid any perception of political bias. The judge then put the sentencing on hold indefinitely in late November in order to give Trump time to argue for the verdict to be thrown out. The delay comes as Trump broadly managed to postpone his other criminal trials from taking place before the election, and as his two federal criminal cases have been formally dismissed.

Tangent

The only other criminal case against Trump that’s still active is his criminal case in Georgia, where he faces charges tied to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump’s lawyers are also seeking to have those charges dismissed due to Trump’s election, but the court has not yet ruled on their request. Even if the case against Trump does stand, it’s likely to be put on pause until after Trump leaves office.

Further Reading

ForbesTrump Hush Money Sentencing Postponed Indefinitely—Possibly Until He Leaves Office ForbesTrump’s Hush Money Conviction Shouldn’t Be Thrown Out, DA Argues—But Sentencing Could Be Postponed Until 2029