Manhattan DA agrees to postpone Trump’s hush money sentencing

NEW YORK (TNND) — The Manhattan district attorney agreed Tuesday to postpone Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money case while he serves his second term as president.
In the letter to Judge Juan Merchan, Alvin Bragg said they would not dismiss the case where the president-elect was already convicted but raised the prospect of a four-year freeze for sentencing.

Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election, where Trump was the Republican nominee. Daniels claims she and Trump had a sexual encounter a decade earlier, a claim that Trump has denied.
“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 the Defendant’s upcoming presidential term,” the letter continued.
No decision has been made, and Merchan has not said when he will rule. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung called the filing a “total and definitive victory for President Trump and the American People who elected him in a landslide.”
Trump and his legal team have been fighting the hush money conviction using the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
The judge agreed to halt proceedings last week until Nov. 19 after Trump’s lawyers urged him to dismiss the case “to avoid unconstitutional impediments” to the incoming president’s ability to run the country.

Merchan has already delayed the sentencing twice — following the immunity decision in July and in September “to avoid any appearance — however unwarranted — that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching presidential election in which the Defendant is a candidate,” according to the judge.
Because it is a state case, Trump would not be able to pardon himself once he returns to office. Presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes.
The hush money case was the only one of Trump’s four criminal indictments to go to trial.
Special counsel Jack Smith is taking steps to wind down the two federal cases against Trump including the president-elect’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and allegations he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
_____Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.