In another victory for Donald Trump, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced he would not oppose the former president’s request to delay his sentencing in the hush money case, originally set for July 11.
“Although we believe the defendant’s arguments to be without merit, we do not oppose his request for leave to file and his putative request to adjourn sentencing pending determination of his motion,” assistant district attorney Josh Steinglass wrote in a letter to Judge Juan Merchan.
This follows Trump’s move on Monday to overturn his criminal conviction in the Manhattan case in light of the US Supreme Court’s ruling that a former president has significant immunity for official acts performed while in office.
On May 30, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty on 34 charges of fabricating documents related to a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to secure her silence about their alleged affair before the 2016 presidential election.
On Monday, Trump’s legal team wrote to Judge Merchan requesting permission to submit a motion to overturn the judgments.
Trump’s defense lawyers cited evidence and testimony they believe should have been protected by presidential immunity, including a government ethics form, multiple tweets from Trump, and testimony from former aide Hope Hicks.
Todd Blanche argued that the convictions in this case “violate the presidential immunity doctrine and create grave risks of ‘an Executive Branch that cannibalizes itself.'” He added, “After further briefing on these issues beginning on July 10, 2024, it will be manifest that the trial result cannot stand.”
Highlighting Hicks’ testimony, Trump’s legal team pointed out that she testified Trump wanted the details of his alleged affair with Stormy Daniels, which he denies, to be made public after the 2016 election. “I think Mr. Trump’s opinion was it was better to be dealing with it now, and that it would have been bad to have that story come out before the election,” Hicks said.
Trump’s lawyers are now relying on a passage in the Supreme Court’s ruling stating: “Testimony or private records of the President or his advisers probing such conduct may not be admitted as evidence at trial.”
Additionally, Trump’s attorneys argued that the Office of Government Ethics’s 2018 submission, phone data from Trump’s administration, and social media posts regarding his former attorney Michael Cohen should not have been admitted.
Bragg requested time to submit his response by July 24, two weeks after Trump’s requested deadline.
Trump’s sentencing date, initially set for July 11, is just a few days before the Republican National Convention, where Trump is expected to receive the official nomination for the Republican presidential candidacy in 2024.
