Trump’s hush money case could be halted but conviction upheld, say prosecutors

Prosecutors have urged a judge not to throw out US President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money criminal conviction but suggested a willingness to end the case in a way that would preserve the verdict while avoiding punishment or a protracted legal fight.

In court papers made public on Tuesday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books, including asking Judge Juan M Merchan to consider treating the case the way he would when a defendant dies.

That would effectively put the case into a permanent state of suspended animation. Trump’s conviction would stand, but everything would freeze, including any appeal action. It is unclear if that option is viable under New York law.

“As applied here, this court could similarly terminate the criminal proceeding by placing a notation in the record that the jury verdict removed the presumption of innocence; that defendant was never sentenced; and that his conviction was neither affirmed nor reversed on appeal because of presidential immunity,” prosecutors wrote in an 82-page filing.

Among the other options prosecutors proposed was delaying sentencing until after Trump leaves office in 2029. However, they were adamant that the conviction should stand, arguing that Trump’s impending return to the White House should not upend a jury’s finding.

The filing expands on the position the prosecutors laid out last month. Since then, Trump’s lawyers have pressed Judge Merchan to dismiss the case altogether in light of his election.

The Trump team argues that letting the case continue would present unconstitutional “disruptions” to his upcoming presidential term.

The lawyers also cited President Joe Biden’s recent pardon of his son Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of tax and gun charges. Mr Biden complained that his son was unfairly prosecuted for political reasons — and Trump’s lawyers say he was, too.

It is unclear how soon Judge Merchan may decide what to do next with the case. Trump, a Republican, takes office on January 20.

He had been scheduled for sentencing late last month. But following the November 5 election victory, Judge Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the former and future president’s sentencing so the defence and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case.

Judge Merchan also delayed a decision on Trump’s prior bid to dismiss the case on immunity grounds.

Trump has been fighting for months to reverse his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors said he fudged the documents to conceal a 130,000-dollar (£102,000) payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier.

He says they did not and denies any wrongdoing. Trump portrays the case as a political attack.

A dismissal would erase his historic conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison sentence. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office.

Judge Merchan could also decide to uphold the verdict and proceed to sentencing, delay the case until Trump leaves office, wait until a federal appeals court rules on his parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court or choose some other option.

The hush money case was the only one of Trump’s four criminal indictments to go to trial.

Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith has ended his two federal cases, which pertained to the former president’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold. The president-elect denies wrongdoing in all.