Prosecutors bristle at Trump’s attempt to delay post-conviction decisions on hush money

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors in Manhattan backed off on Tuesday Donald Trump ‘s attempt to delay post-trial decisions in his New York hush-money criminal case while he calls for the involvement of a federal court and possibly overturn his felony conviction. But they said they could agree to a delay of the former president’s sentencing on Sept. 18.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office argued in a letter to the trial judge that he was not legally required to delay post-trial decisions after Trump asked the U.S. District Court in Manhattan last week to take control of the case from the state court where it was being tried.

Prosecutors urged Judge Juan M. Merchan not to delay his decisions on two key defense motions: Trump’s request to delay sentencing until after the November election and his attempt to set aside the judgment and dismiss the action in the wake of the US Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.

Merchan has announced that he will rule on Trump’s motion to overturn the verdict on September 16. His decision on whether to delay sentencing is expected in the next few days.

Trump was convicted in May of 34 cases of serious crimes of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, whose affair allegations threatened to jeopardize his 2016 presidential bid. Trump has denied their allegations and said he did nothing wrong.

Anyone who falsifies business records can be punished with up to four years in prison. Other possible penalties include a suspended sentence or a fine.

In a letter Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo reiterated that prosecutors had not yet taken a position on delaying sentencing and had relied on Merchan as a facilitator in setting a “reasonable post-trial timeline.”

Trump’s lawyers argue that sentencing Trump as planned, just two days after Merchan’s expected immunity decision, would not give him enough time to consider next steps – including a possible appeal – if Merchan upholds the verdict.

They also argued that convicting Trump on September 18, about seven weeks before Election Day, would amount to election interference and risk putting Trump in prison before early voting begins.

Colangelo said Tuesday that prosecutors were open to a timetable that would allow “sufficient time” to decide on Trump’s motion to overturn the conviction while also convicting him “without undue delay.”

In a letter to Merchan last week, Trump’s lawyers said delaying the proceedings was the “only appropriate course of action” as they seek to get the federal court to correct a ruling they say was marred by violations of the Republican presidential candidate’s constitutional rights and the Supreme Court ruling grants former president comprehensive protection from prosecution.

If the case is brought before a federal court, Trump’s lawyers said They will then seek to overturn the ruling and dismiss the lawsuit on immunity grounds. On Friday, the federal court denied Trump’s request to take over the case, citing technical issues. His lawyers will have the opportunity to refile the request.

The Supreme Court’s July 1 ruling limits the prosecution of former presidents for official acts and prevents prosecutors from using official acts as evidence of the illegality of a president’s unofficial actions.

Trump’s lawyers have argued that prosecutors rushed the trial rather than waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision on the president’s immunity. Prosecutors also erred by presenting evidence to the jury that should not have been admitted under the verdict, including descriptions of Trump’s reaction to coverage of the hush money deal by former White House aides and tweets he sent during his presidency in 2018.

Trump’s lawyers had previously invoked the president’s immunity in a failed attempt last year to advance the hush money trial from the state court to the federal court.