Trump's Legal Team: Dismiss Hush Money Case for New President

Donald Trump’s lawyers have submitted an official request to a New York judge, asking that the hush money case against him be thrown out. They argue that the case could cause disruptions to the presidency, especially since Trump just won the election. The lawyers pointed out that President Joe Biden recently pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, and suggested that the Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, is engaged in political theater, similar to what Biden condemned. Prosecutors have until December 9 to respond. They have hinted that they might delay sentencing until after Trump’s term ends in 2029. However, Trump’s legal team doesn’t think this is a good idea. They believe that delaying the sentencing would be unfair and ridiculous. The judge, Juan M. Merchan, stopped the proceedings after Trump’s election win, postponing the sentencing that was originally scheduled for late November. He also delayed a decision on Trump’s previous attempt to dismiss the case based on immunity claims. Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide a payment made to Stormy Daniels, a porn actor. The payment was meant to keep her quiet about an alleged affair with Trump a decade ago. Trump denies the affair and the wrongdoing. The defense team argues that dismissing the case would benefit the public by allowing Trump to focus on protecting the nation. They also suggest that it would give prosecutors a chance to improve conditions in New York City and protect residents from violent crime. The judge hasn’t set a timeline for a decision yet. He could uphold the verdict, delay the case, wait for a federal appeals court ruling, or choose another option. A dismissal of the New York case would lift a major legal cloud over Trump. Last week, special counsel Jack Smith dropped two federal cases against Trump due to a Justice Department policy that prevents indicting a sitting president. The hush money case was the only one of Trump’s four criminal indictments to go to trial. Prosecutors argued that the payout to Daniels was part of a Trump-driven effort to keep voters from hearing negative stories about him. Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, made the payment, and Trump later reimbursed him. Trump’s company logged these reimbursements as legal expenses, which prosecutors claim was a cover-up. Trump insists the payments were valid legal expenses. The Supreme Court recently ruled that ex-presidents can’t be prosecuted for official acts. Trump’s lawyers used this ruling to argue that some evidence presented at the trial was improper. Prosecutors disagree and say this evidence was only a small part of their case. If the verdict stands, Trump’s punishments could range from a fine to probation to up to four years in prison. However, he likely wouldn’t spend any time behind bars for a first-time conviction involving low-level felony charges. Since this is a state case, Trump can’t pardon himself if he returns to office.