New York judge grants Trump request to file motion to dismiss charges, cancels sentencing indefinitely
On Friday, Judge Juan Merchan granted President-elect Donald Trump’s request to file a motion to dismiss the charges in New York v. Trump and removed the sentencing date for the president-elect from the schedule. Merchan stated that Trump’s attorneys have until December 2 to file their motion for dismissal, while Bragg has until December 9 to respond.
Merchan also confirmed the stay in sentencing for Trump, which was requested by both Trump and Bragg attorneys. The sentencing, which was initially scheduled for Nov. 26, has been adjourned. Trump’s spokesman and incoming White House communications director, Steven Cheung, hailed Merchan’s ruling as a “decisive win” for the president.
“In a decisive win for President Trump, the hoax Manhattan Case is now fully stayed and sentencing is adjourned,” Cheung said. “President Trump won a landslide victory as the American People have issued a mandate to return him to office and dispose of all remnants of the Witch Hunt cases.”
Cheung added that all the “sham lawfare attacks against President Trump are now destroyed,” and the focus is now on “Making America Great Again.”
In a letter to Merchan on Wednesday, Trump’s defense attorney and now-nominee for Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche, demanded the immediate dismissal of the case against President-elect Donald Trump. Blanche argued that the case must be dismissed to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power following President Trump’s overwhelming victory in the 2024 Presidential Election.
Blanche’s pre-motion letter on Wednesday sought permission to file a motion to dismiss by Dec. 20 and requested a stay on all deadlines, which Bragg and New York prosecutors had agreed to. The letter followed Bragg’s request to Merchan for a stay on the case until 2029.
Blanche contended that continuing with the case would be “uniquely destabilizing” and would hamper the operation of the whole governmental apparatus. He emphasized that the court must dismiss the case to avoid violating the presidential immunity doctrine and the Supremacy Clause.
After an unprecedented six-week trial in New York City, a jury found the president guilty on all counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. However, Trump officials argued that Bragg’s request for a stay represented a “total failure of the prosecution” and indicated that the case was effectively over.
Trump’s attorneys had requested Merchan to overturn the guilty verdict altogether, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity. This decision stemmed from charges brought against Trump in a separate federal case related to the events on Jan. 6, 2021, and any alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
In conclusion, the legal battle surrounding President-elect Donald Trump continues to unfold as both sides navigate the complexities of the law and presidential immunity. The outcome of this case will undoubtedly have far-reaching implications for the future of American politics.
