Bragg defers to Merchan, won't block Trump's request to push hush-money sentencing until after election

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said they would not oppose former President Donald Trump’s request to push his sentencing date for his hush-money conviction until after the November election, leaving the decision up to New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan. 

"The People defer to the Court on the appropriate post-trial schedule that allows for adequate time to adjudicate defendant’s motion while also pronouncing sentence ‘without reasonable delay,’" the letter addressed to Merchan and dated Aug. 16 states. The letter, signed by Bragg's assistant district attorneys, including Matthew Colangelo, a former Biden Justice Department official, was made public on Monday. 

In a letter of their own made public on Thursday, Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove suggested that sentencing Trump as scheduled on Sept. 18 – about seven weeks before Election Day – would amount to election interference. They requested to delay the Sept. 18 sentencing in New York v. Trump until after the election. 

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The lawyers for the former president and current Republican nominee wrote that a delay would also allow Trump time to weigh next steps after Merchan is expected to rule Sept. 16 on the defense's request to overturn the verdict and dismiss the case because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s July presidential immunity ruling, arguing "there is no basis for continuing to rush."

"Defendant’s letter indicates for the first time his intent to seek interlocutory state or federal appellate review, before he is sentenced, of any adverse ruling on his motion. It is correct that the denial of immunity from prosecution is immediately appealable," Bragg's office wrote. "But here, in contrast to defendant’s criminal case in D.C., the question of defendant’s immunity from prosecution is not presented; the only question now before the Court is whether a small subset of the trial evidence was improperly admitted in light of a brand-new evidentiary rule that derives from official-acts immunity, and if so, whether any error in admitting official-acts evidence was harmless." 

"The Supreme Court’s recent decision did not consider whether a trial court’s ruling on a distinct evidentiary question is immediately appealable, and there are strong reasons why it should not be," the assistant district attorneys wrote. "Nonetheless, given the defense’s newly-stated position, we defer to the Court on whether an adjournment is warranted to allow for orderly appellate litigation of that question, or to reduce the risk of a disruptive stay from an appellate court pending consideration of that question. The People are prepared to appear for sentencing on any further date the Court sets." 

Bragg's office also cited how "significant public safety and logistical steps by multiple agencies are necessary to prepare for court appearances in this matter." 

"There should be no sentencing in this Election Interference Witch Hunt. As mandated by the United States Supreme Court, this case, along with all of the other Harris - Biden Hoaxes, should be dismissed," Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday. 

Blanche and Bove sent their letter to Merchan on Wednesday after the judge rejected the defense’s latest request that he step aside from the case.

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In the letter, Blanche and Bove reiterated the defense argument that the judge has a conflict of interest because his daughter works as a Democratic political consultant, including for Vice President Kamala Harris when she sought the 2020 presidential nomination. Harris is now running against Trump.

By adjourning the sentencing until after that election, "the Court would reduce, even if not eliminate, issues regarding the integrity of any future proceedings," Trump's lawyers wrote.

Election Day is Nov. 5, but many states allow voters to cast ballots early, with some set to start the process just a few days before or after Trump's scheduled Sept. 18 sentencing date.

Merchan, who has said he is confident in his ability to remain fair and impartial, did not immediately rule on the delay request.

Trump was convicted in May of falsifying his business’ records to conceal a 2016 deal to pay off porn actor Stormy Daniels to stay quiet about her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with him. Prosecutors cast the payout as part of a Trump-driven effort to keep voters from hearing salacious stories about him during his first campaign. Trump says all the stories were false, the business records were not and the case was a political maneuver meant to damage his current campaign. 

The Supreme Court’s immunity decision reins in prosecutions of ex-presidents for official acts and restricts prosecutors from pointing to official acts as evidence that a president’s unofficial actions were illegal. In light of the ruling, Trump's lawyers say jurors in the hush money case should not have heard such evidence as former White House staffers describing how the then-president reacted to news coverage of the Daniels deal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.