NEW YORK — New York prosecutors oppose any effort to dismiss President-elect Donald Trump's hush money conviction, but they expressed openness Tuesday to delaying sentencing until after his second term.
The Manhattan district attorney's office said in a court filing that Trump's forthcoming presidency isn't grounds for dropping a case that was already tried. But, citing ''the need to balance competing constitutional interests," prosecutors said ''consideration must be given'' to shelving the case until after he's out of office.
At the least, prosecutors said they're OK delaying Trump's sentencing — which had been set for Nov. 26 — while his lawyers fight to get the case tossed out.
Judge Juan M. Merchan has not said when he will rule on the fate of the first criminal conviction of a former, and now future, U.S. commander-in-chief. But with the sentencing schedule now effectively on hold, Trump's lawyers are pursuing multiple legal paths to try to dispose of the case — an effort that could reach the Supreme Court because of the unprecedented questions involved.
The president-elect was convicted in May of falsifying business records to cover up a scheme to influence the 2016 election by paying hush money to squelch a story of extramarital sex. Trump denies the allegations.
After Trump's election win this month, his lawyers urged Merchan to throw out the case and implored prosecutors to endorse that outcome, writing that the case must be scrapped ''to facilitate the orderly transition of executive power — and in the interests of justice.''
Merchan gave prosecutors until Tuesday to weigh in on how to proceed.
Prosecutors responded that they ''are mindful of the demands and obligations of the presidency'' but also ''deeply respect the fundamental role of the jury in our constitutional system.''
