DA suggests judge could permanently halt Trump's hush money case while upholding his conviction
Source: AP
Updated 1:38 PM EST, December 10, 2024
NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors are urging a judge not to throw out President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money criminal conviction but suggesting a willingness to end the case in a way that would preserve the verdict while avoiding punishment or a protracted legal fight.
In court papers made public on Tuesday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books, including asking Judge Juan M. Merchan to consider treating the case the way he would when a defendant dies. That would effectively put the case into a permanent state of suspended animation. Trump’s conviction would stand, but everything would freeze, including any appeal action. It is unclear if that option is viable under New York law.
“As applied here, this Court could similarly terminate the criminal proceeding by placing a notation in the record that the jury verdict removed the presumption of innocence; that defendant was never sentenced; and that his conviction was neither affirmed nor reversed on appeal because of presidential immunity,” prosecutors wrote in an 82-page filing.
Among the other options prosecutors proposed was delaying sentencing until after Trump leaves office in 2029. However, they were adamant that the conviction should stand, arguing that Trump’s impending return to the White House should not upend a jury’s finding.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-manhattan-da-hush-money-stormy-daniels-f4405fbd1b0c769a7f98c40aa892d94c
Link to FILING (PDF) - http://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/P.v-D.Trump71543-23-1.pdf
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