{"id":2365403,"date":"2024-11-07T05:29:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T10:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-election-throws-new-wrench-into-manhattan-hush-money-case-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-11-07T05:29:52","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T10:29:52","slug":"trump-election-throws-new-wrench-into-manhattan-hush-money-case-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-election-throws-new-wrench-into-manhattan-hush-money-case-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump election throws new wrench into Manhattan hush money case &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-election-throws-new-wrench-into-manhattan-hush-money-case-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2365403&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the implications of President-elect Donald\u200b Trump&#8217;s recent \u2064election\u200b victory on his criminal case in Manhattan, particularly concerning charges related to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/we-must-act-matt-gaetz-to-introduce-bill-defunding-jack-smith-investigation-targeting-trump\/\" title=\"&#039;Must Act Now&#039;: Gaetz to Introduce Bill Defunding Trump-Targeted Investigation\">falsifying business\u2064 records<\/a> following the 2016 election. Trump&#8217;s election has introduced constitutional complexities \u200binto the case that could lead to a reduction in his potential sentence or possibly the dismissal \u2062of the case. Key upcoming decisions \u200dfrom Judge Juan Merchan will be crucial, especially \u200cregarding whether a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity could affect Trump&#8217;s\u200b guilty verdict.<\/p>\n<p>If\u2063 the \u200ccourt rules against Trump on immunity, sentencing\u200c is expected to occur on November 26, \u2064although\u2063 sources suggest that his legal team may \u200bseek to \u2062delay the process, arguing that a sitting president should not be entangled in legal proceedings. If successful, this delay could extend throughout Trump&#8217;s presidential term, complicating the possibility of reviving the case afterward.<\/p>\n<p>Experts indicate that, should the case be\u200c paused, there might be insufficient motivation for the Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, to continue pursuing the case once Trump \u200dis no longer in office. Nonetheless, Trump&#8217;s convictions include several low-level \u200dfelonies, with any sentencing\u2064 likely to be less severe than the maximum four-year prison term. Ultimately, the article highlights the uncertain legal landscape surrounding Trump&#8217;s case \u2063and its\u200d dependence on judicial decisions\u200c in the near future.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump election throws new wrench into Manhattan hush money case<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1875279\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>President-elect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>&rsquo;s criminal case in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/manhattan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Manhattan\">Manhattan<\/a> has a dimmer future following his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2024-elections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"election\">election<\/a> victory on Tuesday night, but it may not disappear as easily as his federal cases.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s anticipated return to the White House has thrown constitutional wrenches into the case that could weaken his forthcoming sentence or doom the case entirely, but a lot hinges on Judge Juan Merchan&rsquo;s next moves.<\/p>\n<p>Merchan is set to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/if-i-werent-as-sure-as-i-am-that-he-will-be-impeached-i-would-leave-cuomo-staffer-says-the-governor-needs-to-go\/\" title=\"\u2018If I Weren\u2019t As Sure As I Am That He Will Be Impeached, I Would Leave\u2019: Cuomo Staffer Says The Governor Needs To Go\">make key decisions<\/a> in the case in the coming weeks after Trump was convicted by a jury this year of falsifying business records in the aftermath of his 2016 election.<\/p>\n<p>Below is a look at how the case could unfold.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What comes next?<\/h2>\n<p>Trump is awaiting a ruling from Merchan on whether the Supreme Court&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-supreme-court-reforms-driven-by-disaffected-democrats-skewing-polls-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s Supreme Court reforms driven by disaffected Democrats skewing polls - Washington Examiner\">recent presidential immunity decision<\/a> has rendered Trump&rsquo;s guilty verdict untenable.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has argued the verdict should be thrown out, while Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg disagrees. Merchan has said he plans to issue a decision on immunity by next Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>If the immunity ruling is unfavorable to Trump, the next step would be for Merchan to sentence Trump on Nov. 26. However, a source familiar with Trump&rsquo;s legal plans told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> a sentencing hearing is unlikely to even occur, at least not any time before Trump&rsquo;s term in the White House expires.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m guessing we&rsquo;ll run to Merchan with a motion to stay later this week,&rdquo; the source said. &ldquo;There are a lot of grounds to stay, including potentially a supremacy clause argument, because the president has statutory duties during the transition. My strong suspicion is that sentencing will not occur.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Could the case be paused until Trump leaves office?<\/h2>\n<p>If Trump&rsquo;s defense team successfully gets the case stayed, meaning a court agrees to pause it, that stay could last through the end of Trump&rsquo;s term in office.<\/p>\n<p>Bragg or the court could find it constitutionally unsound to wrap up a sitting president in court proceedings, a finding that would align with the Department of Justice&rsquo;s policy of avoiding prosecuting presidents while they are in office.<\/p>\n<p>The court proceedings could be revived upon Trump&rsquo;s exit from the White House, but Trump&rsquo;s legal team&rsquo;s aggressive plans to escalate the case to the appellate court or even the Supreme Court at every possible turn make a revival a distant prospect at this stage.<\/p>\n<p>Josh Blackman, an associate professor at South Texas College of Law, opined that Bragg may have no appetite to continue fighting the case if it is paused through the end of Trump&rsquo;s time in office.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The purpose of these cases was lawfare, right?&rdquo; Blackman told the <em>Washington Examiner.<\/em> &ldquo;It was to try to keep Trump out of the Oval Office. They failed, so it doesn&rsquo;t serve any purpose.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Could Trump still be sentenced?<\/h2>\n<p>Trump was convicted of 34 low-level felonies that carry a maximum four-year prison sentence, but sentencing guidelines have always suggested that Trump would face far less time behind bars than that or perhaps no jail time at all.<\/p>\n<p>Now, in the event that the sentencing hearing does proceed, Merchan would face limitations on what penalties he could impose, according to New York-based attorney Karen Agnifilo, who once served in a top role in the Manhattan District Attorney&rsquo;s Office.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Anything that would interfere with his ability to serve as president would actually be unconstitutional and in violation of the supremacy clause,&rdquo; Agnifilo told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>She added that a fine or community service could be possible but that probation or jail would not be options.<\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s attorneys would also have the ability to appeal the verdict once Merchan imposes a sentence, and an appellate court could indefinitely pause the implementation of the sentence at that point while higher courts decide whether the verdict should still stand.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Could the case be moved to federal court?<\/h2>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s legal team has also made numerous attempts to remove the case from Bragg&rsquo;s purview and place it in the federal court system. Trump cannot pardon himself of state charges, but he could be in a more favorable position to fight the case in federal court. Federal removal is, however, only one part of Trump&rsquo;s defense strategy; the case could fizzle out through other avenues.<\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">latest federal removal pursuit<\/a> is sitting before a New York appellate court, and Bragg has until January to submit his arguments for it to the court.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1875279\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1875279\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump&#8217;s election complicates Manhattan hush money case<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2365404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24150514347474.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3728,9519,3634],"class_list":["post-2365403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-election","tag-manhattan","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24150514347474.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2365403"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2365407,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365403\/revisions\/2365407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2365404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2365403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2365403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2365403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}