Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s Office are opposing an effort by President-elect Donald Trump to dismiss his criminal conviction for hush money payments, and instead say they are willing to put the case on hold until Trump leaves office, the New York Times reports. In a letter to the judge overseeing the case, prosecutors emphasized that a jury had already convicted Mr. Trump of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal. Prosecutors and judges are often loath to unravel a jury’s verdict. Still, acknowledging the unprecedented nature of the case — Trump would be the first felon to serve as president — the prosecutors raised the prospect of a four-year freeze so that he will not be sentenced for his crimes until he is out of office. The judge, Juan M. Merchan, will decide in the coming weeks whether to freeze the case or dismiss it outright, a momentous ruling that will shape the outcome of the only one of Mr. Trump’s four criminal cases that made it to trial.
In their letter, the prosecutors spoke out against a dismissal, urging the judge to balance the interests of the presidency with “the integrity of the criminal justice system.” “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 prosecutors wrote. “We also deeply respect the fundamental role of the jury in our constitutional system.” Trump’s lawyers had written a letter to the DA’s office urging them to proactively dismiss the case, arguing that doing so would “avoid unconstitutional impediments to President Trump’s ability to govern,” citing the “complex, sensitive and intensely time-consuming” presidential transition process. Prosecutors took a week to deliberate before delivering their response on Tuesday. Trump, eager to clear his criminal record, will now take his dismissal request to Justice Merchan as soon as this week, setting in motion a legal battle that could cast a shadow on his second presidential term and ultimately reach the Supreme Court.
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