Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg‘s team said on Tuesday they will not fight a request by former President Donald Trump to challenge his guilty verdict in a hush-money trial and postpone sentencing.
Prosecutors sent a letter to Judge Juan Merchan stating their position after reports that Trump’s attorneys reportedly sought permission to file a motion to challenge the recent conviction in New York after the Supreme Court ruled their client is immune from prosecution for official acts as president.
“Although we believe 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,” they said.
Bragg’s team requested a July 24 deadline to file and serve a response with the expectation that Trump’s legal team will be allowed to file a memo in support of a motion to set aside the verdict by July 10.
Merchan set sentencing for July 11, just days before Trump is expected to receive the GOP’s presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention. The judge may now choose to push back the date.
A CNN source said Trump’s lawyers argued the Supreme Court ruling — delivered as part of a federal election case brought by special counsel Jack Smith — affirmed their position that Bragg should not have been permitted to offer evidence at trial regarding official acts and the guilty verdict should be set aside.
In May, jurors convicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to allegedly cover up a tryst with adult film actress Stormy Daniels as part of a “catch-and-kill” scheme to influence the 2016 election. Trump, who denied the affair and pleaded not guilty to the charges, vowed to appeal the verdict.
Three other criminal cases loom over Trump as he seeks a second term in the White House, including two led by special counsel Smith: a 2020 election case and one that focuses on classified documents. Another 2020 election case came together in Georgia and is led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Trump has maintained his innocence throughout. Besides the hush-money case, it does not appear likely that any of the other cases will reach the trial stage before the November contest, in part due to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday that sent the federal election case back to a lower court for further review.