New York, Dec 11 (IANS) Prosecutors of Manhattan urged a New York criminal court to keep President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money case alive, even if sentencing is pushed out past Trump’s next presidential term.
“President-elect immunity does not exist,” lawyers from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office wrote in the court filing made public on Tuesday. “At most, (Trump) should receive temporary accommodations during his presidency to prevent this criminal case from meaningfully interfering with his official decision-making.”
Trump was convicted on May 30 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election, Xinhua news agency reported.
He was originally scheduled for sentencing in July, but the sentencing date was repeatedly pushed back, according to USA Today.
Trump is now arguing that sentencing should be canceled and the case should be dismissed as a result of his election victory.
“Burdening the Presidency with a biased prosecution by a local prosecutor would be not only unconstitutional, but also unbearably undemocratic to the people of this country who chose President Trump as their leader,” Trump’s legal team wrote in a motion calling for the case’s dismissal.
–IANS
int/rs