New York Judge Juan Merchan on Friday approved President-elect Donald Trump’s request to file a motion to dismiss the charges in New York v. Trump and removed the previously scheduled sentencing date from the calendar. Merchan set a December 2 deadline for Trump’s attorneys to submit their motion for dismissal, with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s team required to respond by December 9. Additionally, Merchan confirmed a joint request from both Trump and Bragg’s legal teams to stay the sentencing. Originally scheduled for November 26, the sentencing has been officially “adjourned,” according to Merchan’s statement, Fox News reported.
In a letter to Merchan on Wednesday, Todd Blanche, the defense attorney for Trump and now-nominee for Deputy Attorney General, demanded that the case against President-elect Donald Trump be dismissed. “On November 5, 2024, the Nation’s People issued a mandate that supersedes the political motivations of DANY’s ‘People,’” Blanche wrote. “This case must be immediately dismissed.” Trump’s attorney also said that “immediate dismissal of this case is mandated by the federal Constitution, the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, and the interests of justice, in order to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power following President Trump’s overwhelming victory in the 2024 Presidential Election.”
Blanche submitted a pre-motion letter on Wednesday seeking permission to file a motion to dismiss by December 20 and requesting a stay on all case deadlines, a move agreed upon by District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York prosecutors. The letter followed a request from Bragg on Tuesday to Judge Merchan, asking for a stay in the case until 2029. While Bragg indicated his intention to oppose Trump’s motion to dismiss, he expressed a willingness to review the defense’s arguments.
He also argued that Bragg “appears to not yet be ready to dismiss this politically-motivated and fatally flawed case, which is what is mandated by the law and will happen as justice takes its course.” The attorney pointed to Bragg’s own election campaign for another term as Manhattan district attorney. He argued that “continuing with this case would be ‘uniquely destabilizing’ and threatens to ‘hamstring the operation of the whole governmental apparatus, both in foreign and domestic affairs.’”
“The Court must address these new issues and dismiss the case, prior to issuing a decision on the previously filed Presidential immunity motion,” Blanche explained. “Any other action would obviously violate the presidential immunity doctrine and the Supremacy Clause.” Blanche noted further, per Fox, that “even if the Court were to wrongly deny the new interests-of-justice motion, which it should not do, the appropriate forum for any additional proceedings must first be resolved in President Trump’s removal appeal.” Blanche stated that if the court denies any part of the requested relief or proceeds with any aspect of the case, Trump would request a stay on the ruling’s implementation to ensure President Trump has sufficient time to seek appellate review.
Prosecutors in New York said on Tuesday that, while they are likely to oppose the argument, they are open to being briefed on the case for complete dismissal presented by Trump’s defense attorneys. “Prosecutors are trying to save face,” a Trump official told Fox News Digital earlier this week. “They know this case will soon be thrown out.”
Another official told Fox News Digital that New York prosecutors’ “fallback” is a “five-year delay.” The official added, “No serious person believes this case will withstand that.” Meanwhile, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung also told Fox News Digital that Bragg’s request for a stay is “a total and definitive victory for President Trump and the American People who elected him in a landslide.” Cheung, who was tapped to serve as White House communications director, added: “The Manhattan DA has conceded that this Witch Hunt cannot continue. The lawless case is now stayed, and President Trump’s legal team is moving to get it dismissed once and for all.”
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