Trump hush money update: Prosecutors oppose dismissal; sentencing still pending
FILE - Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in court for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images)
New York prosecutors submitted paperwork Tuesday expected to move along a judge’s decision on whether to undo President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money conviction.
Trump’s lawyers are arguing for the conviction to be dismissed so he can run the country, and paperwork submitted today lays out how the prosecution wishes to proceed in the wake of the election results.
The prosecution said Tuesday they will oppose dismissing Trump’s hush money case, but they might be open to delaying his sentencing until after his impending second term.
Trump is due to be sentenced on Nov. 26, but it’s unclear now if or when that will take place.
Judge Juan M. Merchan did not immediately offer a timetable for his decision. Trump is due to be sworn in Jan. 20.
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Trump convicted in hush money trial
Trump was found guilty on May 30, 2024, of 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier. The payment was made shortly before the 2016 election.
Trump says they did not have sex and denies any wrongdoing.
Sentencing had initially been scheduled for Sept. 18, but was delayed until after the election to Nov. 26 by Trump’s request.
Trump’s legal fight
Trump initially asked the judge to overturn his conviction and dismiss the case because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s July presidential immunity ruling.
Trump’s lawyers cited the ruling to argue that the hush money jury got some evidence it shouldn't have, such as Trump’s presidential financial disclosure form and testimony from some White House aides.
Prosecutors disagreed and said the evidence in question was only "a sliver" of their case.
After Trump’s election win, his lawyers redoubled their efforts, arguing that dismissing the case "in the interests of justice" was warranted both under the immunity ruling and because of his status as president-elect.
If the verdict stands and the case proceeds to sentencing, Trump’s punishments would range from a fine or probation to up to four years in prison — but it’s unlikely he’d spend any time behind bars for a first-time conviction involving charges in the lowest tier of felonies.
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Trump’s plan to dismiss his other cases
AP declares Trump winner after he clears 270
Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts. Grant Reeher with Syracuse University joined LiveNOW from FOX to discuss.
Trump has said that "within two seconds" of taking office that he would fire Jack Smith, the special counsel who has been prosecuting two federal cases against him. Smith is already evaluating how to wind down the cases because of long-standing Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.
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Smith charged Trump last year with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Trump cannot pardon himself when it comes to his state conviction in New York in a hush money case, but he could seek to leverage his status as president-elect in an effort to set aside or expunge his felony conviction and stave off a potential prison sentence.
A case in Georgia, where Trump was charged with election interference, will likely be the only criminal case left standing. It would probably be put on hold until at least 2029, at the end of his presidential term. The Georgia prosecutor on the case just won reelection.
The Source: Information in this report was obtained from The Associated Press, which accessed court records and case filings, including from the U.S. Supreme Court. Statements were also obtained from prosecutors and legal teams. This story was reported from Detroit and Los Angeles. Chris Williams contributed.