The only way forward in Donald Trump’s crime silent money case He is vacating his conviction in New York and dismissing the case before Trump takes office, the president-elect’s lawyers argued in a sealed court filing Friday.
Trump’s attorney, responding to a filing by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg unsealed Tuesdayrejected each of Bragg’s proposals to preserve the president’s conviction, deference to the office of the presidency, accusing Bragg of “sneaky tactics” by suggesting that the trial judge delay Trump’s sentencing until 2029.
“(A) stay would require President Trump to lead the country while this Court and DANY stand ready to impose jail terms, fines and other penalties as soon as he leaves office,” the filing said. “To be clear, President Trump will never deviate from the public interest in responding to these nefarious tactics.”
Trump’s lawyers also described a plan proposed by Bragg to reduce Trump’s sentence — a mechanism used when a defendant dies while a case is pending — as “problematic” and “very troubling.”
“As a demonstration of DA Bragg’s desperation to avoid his legally mandated firing, DANY proposes that the Court make it appear as if one of the assassination attempts against President Trump was successful,” wrote Trump’s attorneys, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, who have been appointed by Trump. Major jobs in the Department of Justice.
It was Trump found guilty In May, adult film actress Stormy Daniels was indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to payments she made to boost her 2016 presidential campaign, but sentencing has been permanently postponed following her re-election. . Trump’s lawyers have argued that the entire case should be dismissed because the sitting president is immune from prosecution.
In their filing earlier this week, prosecutors proposed three alternatives to upholding Trump’s sentence, respecting the president’s impeachment ban, including delaying sentencing until 2029, reducing the sentence — which would end the case but preserve his conviction record –. or punish Trump with a sentence that does not include imprisonment.
Former Republican President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event on September 25, 2024 in Mint Hill, NC
Evan Vucci/AP
Trump’s lawyers called each option unconstitutional and called the case politically motivated, and during the filing, Senator John Fetterman took the unusual step of citing a Truth Social post in which the Pennsylvania Democrat called the case an example of “weaponizing the judiciary.”
“DA Bragg’s interest in keeping the grand jury verdicts as a belt he plans to wear to campaign events in 2025 is not a basis for interfering with the Executive Branch,” the filing said.
Trump’s lawyers argued that delaying sentencing until Trump leaves office in 2029 would require Trump to remain president while the threat of wrongful imprisonment hangs.
“Suspending the proceeding during President Trump’s second term would obstruct the Presidency and give New York County unsustainable leverage over the executive branch, which exists to protect the entire Nation,” the filing states.
The filing argued that prosecutors’ proposed dismissal of the case would violate Trump’s right to appeal, and sentencing Trump to prison or something other than prison would still pose a “serious and unacceptable” risk to the president’s functions.
“One would expect more from a freshman law student, and this is another indication that DANY’s opposition to this motion was not made in good faith,” Trump’s lawyers said of the restriction idea.
The filing took a political tone, repeatedly referencing Bragg’s 2025 re-election campaign and accusing the district attorney of politicizing the case to “defend his poor record.”
“It is very clear at this point that DANY will say and do anything — including asking the Court to overrule the Constitution, the New York Court of Appeals and the Second Circuit — to try to make this abomination stick,” the filing said. he said
