Prosecutors ask judge to consider delaying sentencing in Trump’s hush money case until after he leaves office: How we got here

Attorneys for President-elect Donald Trump asked a New York judge to "immediately" dismiss the criminal hush case against him Wednesday, a day after Manhattan prosecutors said that they oppose a dismissal but would be open to delaying sentencing until after he leaves office.

In a letter to New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, Trump's lawyers argued that anything less than a dismissal would be "uniquely destabilizing to the country" as he prepares his return to the White House.

"Immediate dismissal of this case is mandated by the federal Constitution, the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, and the interests of justice, in order to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power following President Trump’s overwhelming victory in the 2024 Presidential election," attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote in the letter.

Sentencing had been scheduled for Nov. 26, but Merchan postponed it indefinitely.

What did prosecutors say?

In a letter to Merchan filed Tuesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said that Trump's forthcoming presidency isn’t grounds for dismissal. But prosecutors also acknowledged that they are in uncharted legal territory and raised the possibility of deferring sentencing until after Trump completes his second four-year term.

“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,” the letter said. “We also deeply respect the fundamental role of the jury in our constitutional system.

“Given the need to balance competing constitutional interests,” it added, “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 Defendant’s upcoming presidential term.”

Merchan must now decide whether to delay sentencing until he leaves office or dismiss the case altogether.

How we got here

In May, Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a felony, when a New York City jury found him guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 payment to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Trump’s lawyers had argued that the conviction should be nullified, given the Supreme Court’s ruling in July that presidents are immune from prosecution for “official acts” carried out while in office.

Because Manhattan prosecutors used evidence obtained from the Trump White House to make their case, Trump’s lawyers told the judge, the verdict should not be allowed to stand. Merchan was scheduled to issue his ruling on the Supreme Court immunity question on Tuesday.

Trump is facing a maximum penalty of up to four years in prison in the hush money case.

But even if Merchan allows Trump’s conviction to stand, it is all but certain that he will not, as a first-time offender and a newly reelected president, be sentenced to jail time.

What about Trump’s other criminal cases?

The hush money case was one of four criminal cases Trump has been facing, and the only one to go to trial. His election victory has put all four in jeopardy.

Jack Smith, the special counsel, is expected to drop both of the federal cases he brought against Trump because of a long-standing Department of Justice policy prohibiting the prosecution of sitting presidents. Trump had been indicted for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election — including his actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol — and for retaining classified documents after leaving office.

Trump's criminal election interference case in Georgia had already been bogged down in delays. And after the election, the president-elect’s lawyers signaled that his victory means that they will ask the court to delay the case from going to trial until after he leaves office — and that they will challenge it again on the grounds that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution.

What’s next?

As Merchan weighs the next steps, Team Trump is already declaring victory.

“This is a total and definitive victory for President Trump and the American People who elected him in a landslide,” Trump's spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement to the Associated Press. “The Manhattan DA has conceded that this Witch Hunt cannot continue. The lawless case is now stayed, and President Trump’s legal team is moving to get it dismissed once and for all.”