'Not be dismissed': Legal experts react to latest developments in Trump criminal case
Donald Trump speaks in Manchester, New Hampshire, on April 12, 2014. (Shutterstock.com)
November 19, 2024
Legal analysts are responding to the situation in New York where Donald Trump is still set to be sentenced for a jury's guilty verdict on 34 felony counts — even though the case looks likely to be indefinitely postponed.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg agreed to pause the sentencing in the hush money case, in which Trump was convicted of business fraud after he paid off a porn star to hide a relationship from voters in the 2016 election.
The DA supported the postponement Tuesday while Trump's team prepares a motion to dismiss it given "the people's decision" in the election, they said in a statement. The sentencing had been scheduled for Nov. 26.
Several legal analysts agree that the voters' decisions shouldn't have anything to do with what a jury decides in a trial.
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"I think Judge Juan Merchan will probably go along with this [request for a postponement,] but it's just, you know, a delaying the inevitable," said Catherine Christian, MSNBC legal analyst and former assistant district attorney.
"Now, it will be President Trump because we are at the end of November already. So, it will be interesting if Judge Merchan says I agree and I'm just going to go along with both sides."
Former SDNY Criminal Division Deputy Chief Kristy Greenberg told MSNBC that Trump remains a "convicted felon" — and delaying his sentencing does nothing to change that.
"All the D.A.'s office is saying is we will defend the jury's verdict finding him guilty of 34 felonies and not backing away from that," Greenberg continued. "There is nothing in the law that says there is no immunity for unofficial acts. That is what we who sat through weeks of this trial learned."
She also pointed out that "there is no legal authority to support" the idea that being elected president means the verdict should be thrown out.
"I expect that this verdict will continue to be upheld. This will not be dismissed. But, there is not going to be a sentence before he takes office. And there is not going to be a sentence handed down while he is in office."
Former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Diane Kiesel told MSNBC that she doesn't know of any "legal precedent or argument that says that because someone who is going to be president was convicted of a crime prior to being president for a crime that occurred before he became president should somehow not have to face the consequences."
She also reinforced the idea that Merchan can do whatever he wants, including issuing Trump a suspended sentence or even a probation, and Trump can then appeal to the higher court.
On CNN, legal analyst and former prosecutor Elie Honig called it the "crazy law school hypothetical come to life."
"I see two major takeaways from this filing we just got from the D.A.," he continued. "First of all, the d.a. is okay with adjourning the sentencing indefinitely, which means it will not happen before he takes office... But the second thing that really jumps out at me is the D.A. in this letter says ... about immunity, that it doesn't necessarily cover post-trial proceedings."
He said the D.A. might be considering trying to push the sentencing to 2029 after Trump is finished being president. He confessed that he found that "a preposterous suggestion. "Just as a practical matter, you can't put off a sentence for four-plus years," he said.
"I think Donald Trump would have a very strong argument when this day comes, when he's 82 years old and finishing up his second term, that that's just too long to wait. But again, this is all unknown."
Legal analysts had previously suggested that Merchan could issue a suspended sentence that would be enacted immediately following Trump's presidency.
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