New York [US], November 20: In May, Mr. Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to conceal a payment to an adult film star to silence her about an affair. The payment was made just before the 2016 election and was considered an attempt to influence the election.
The sentencing hearing was postponed to November 26, but with Trump's election as president, prosecutors in Manhattan (New York) agreed to shelve the case because of the US Justice Department's long-standing policy of not prosecuting a sitting president.
According to ABC News, Mr. Trump's defense attorneys on November 19 asked Judge Juan Merchan to dismiss the case because they believe the incumbent president is immune from prosecution. The defendants argued that even though Mr. Trump has not yet taken office, immunity also applies during the transition.
They also argued that an appeal would take more than a year, by which time Mr Trump would have officially become president and would be legally immune. "There is no difference between the current status of President Trump after his overwhelming victory in the national election and that of a sitting president after his inauguration," the lawyers said.
Prosecutors argued that presidential immunity does not apply to a defendant convicted of an entirely private crime. While refusing to dismiss the case, they asked that the entire trial, including the November 26 sentencing, be postponed until after Trump leaves office in 2029.
Judge Merchan will have the final say on what happens next in the New York case . Trump is also facing criminal charges in other cases, but prosecutors are taking steps to halt those proceedings as he prepares to take office.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
