Trump legal case in New York on hold as prosecution studies effect of presidential win • Daily Montanan

President-elect Donald Trump, at the time the Republican candidate for president, appears in court during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 20, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — All court proceedings for President-elect Donald Trump’s guilty conviction in New York are now paused, as the prosecution examines moving forward with the case against the man who will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.

New York Judge Juan Merchan stayed all actions Monday in the People of New York v. Donald J. Trump until Nov. 19, according to email correspondence between all parties that was published by the court.

U.S. special counsel Jack Smith has similarly requested a federal judge to delay proceedings in Trump’s 2020 election interference case.

Trump, who was found guilty by a jury in late May of 34 felonies in falsifying business, is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 26.

Merchan has yet to rule on Trump’s motion to dismiss the case based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s July presidential immunity ruling that triggered questions over what evidence against a former president can or cannot be admitted to a court of law.

Merchan granted the delay in response to a joint application from both the District Attorney of New York’s office and Trump’s defense team, which wants the case altogether dismissed.

New York prosecutor Matthew Colangelo informed Merchan in an email Sunday that Trump’s team requested on Friday the state delay the case “to provide time to review and consider a number of arguments based on the impact on this proceeding from the results of the Presidential election.”

Colangelo agreed the “unprecedented circumstances” presented by Trump’s election victory “require careful consideration to ensure that any further steps in this proceeding appropriately balance the competing interests of (1) a jury verdict of guilt following trial that has the presumption of regularity; and (2) the Office of the President.”

Colangelo asked Merchan to give him until Nov. 19 to decide how and whether the prosecution will move forward.

Later Sunday morning, Trump attorney Emil Bove followed with an email to Merchan agreeing with the prosecution’s deadline request.

“The stay, and dismissal, are necessary to avoid unconstitutional impediments to President Trump’s ability to govern, which is the broader argument that we made to DANY on Friday,” Bove wrote.

Trump made history as the first former president to become a convicted felon when the New York jury on May 30 found him guilty on all 34 felony charges for covering up hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels just ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The trial that stretched throughout the spring featured witness testimony from Daniels about a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 at a Lake Tahoe golf resort.

Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen was also called by the prosecution to give an account of Trump’s concealment of 11 invoices, 11 checks and 12 ledger entries to repay Cohen for the $130,000 in hush money he paid to Daniels.

Trump slammed the trial and conviction as a “scam,” and Republicans showed resounding support for the former president during and after the proceedings, with House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, calling the verdict a “shameful day in American history.”

Last updated 10:47 a.m., Nov. 12, 2024

by Ashley Murray, Daily Montanan November 12, 2024

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Ashley Murray covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include domestic policy and appropriations.

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