Manhattan prosecutors on Tuesday rebuffed President-elect Donald Trump’s request to dismiss his criminal conviction in the wake of his electoral victory, signalling instead their willingness to freeze the case while he holds office.
In a letter to the judge overseeing the case, the prosecutors emphasised that a jury had already convicted Trump of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal.
But 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. “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,” prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office wrote to the judge, Juan Merchan. “We also deeply respect the fundamental role of the jury in our constitutional system.”
Eager to clear his criminal record, Trump is now expected to move forcefully for a dismissal, setting in motion a legal battle that could shadow his second presidential term and ultimately reach the US Supreme Court. That fight will almost certainly further delay Trump’s sentencing, which was scheduled for next week.
In court records last week that hinted at a Supreme Court challenge, Trump’s lawyers argued that dismissing the case would “avoid unconstitutional impediments to Trump’s ability to govern.” Doing so, they added, was “in the interests of justice.”
The district attorney, Alvin L Bragg, took a week to deliberate before delivering Tuesday’s much-anticipated response. His options were limited and unappealing: He could have either dropped the case, a move that would have alienated his liberal Manhattan base, or proposed some way to pause it, potentially intensifying Trump’s ire and drawing a legal challenge. Ultimately, Bragg, the first prosecutor in the country to indict and convict a former president, opted to stand behind the jury’s verdict.
