Prosecutors request that Trump NY sentencing be delayed
Georgia court cancels arguments over disqualifying Willis
By: Aisha Bagchi
USA Today
..... Prosecutors advised a New York judge on Tuesday [11/19/2024] to delay President-elect Donald Trump;s sentencing in his criminal hush money case following the November [2024] election - but said they will still fight Trump's efforts to get the case dismissed.
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Judge Juan Merchan has already put the November 26 [2024] sentencing dat4e and other deadlines in the case on hold. In its Tuesday [11/19/2024] filing, Manhattan Distinct Attorney Alvin Bragg's office raised the question of whether any sentencing would now be appropriate before Trump's next presidency ends.
..... "Given the need to balance competing constitutional interest, consideration must be given to various non-dismissal options ... such as deferral of all remaining proceedings until after the end of (Trump's) upcoming presidential term," the office said.
..... The office recommended that Merchan set a schedule for trump to file a formal request to dismiss the case and said it plans to oppose that request.
..... Trump was convicted May 30 [2024] on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to pron star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. His term previously argued that the conviction should be tossed based on the Supreme Court's July 1 [2024] decision granting presidents some immunity for acts undertaken during office.
..... Prosecutors also gave a hint of how they will fight Trump's efforts to get the case thrown out: They characterized a sitting president's immunity form prosecution as "temporary," and said the integrity of the criminal justice system, - not just concerns for the president is at stake.
..... "Immunity should not lead to consequences that 'forever (thwart) the public's interest in enforcing its criminal laws,'" they said, quoting from a 2000 Juice Department memo.
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In a statement, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung characterized the prosecution's filing as "a total and definitive victory" for the president-elect, saying, "the Manhattan DA has conceded that this Witch Hunt cannot continue."
..... On Monday, [11/18/2024] a Georgia appeals court canceled scheduled arguments in Trump's state criminal case over whether the district attorney prosecuting him can stay on the case after she had an affair with a member of her prosecution team. The state appeals court did not proved a reason for the cancellation.