US prosecutors suggest sparing Trump prison sentence in hush money case

NEW YORK - US prosecutors have suggested to a New York judge the possibility of sparing Donald Trump any prison time for his conviction on charges involving hush money paid to a porn star, in the light of his presidential election victory, but opposed dismissing the case.

In a court filing made public on Dec 10, prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney (DA) Alvin Bragg’s office urged Justice Juan Merchan to deny the Republican businessman-turned-politician’s request to throw out the case so it does not hang over him and impede his ability to govern once he takes office on Jan 20.

Noting that many of Trump’s concerns involve the possibility that he could be incarcerated, prosecutors noted that there is no requirement that Justice Merchan sentence him to prison – and said the judge could conclude that presidential immunity from prosecution would require a non-incarceration sentence.

“Such a constitutional limitation on the range of available sentences would further diminish any impact on (the) defendant’s presidential decision-making, without going so far as to discard the indictment and jury verdict altogether,” prosecutors wrote.

Justice Merchan has not said when he will rule on Trump’s bid for dismissal.

Trump has called the case an attempt by Mr Bragg, a Democrat, to harm his 2024 campaign. In a statement on Dec 10, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said: “Today’s filing by the Manhattan DA is a pathetic attempt to salvage the remains of an unconstitutional and politically motivated hoax.”

The case stems from a US$130,000 (S$175,000) payment that Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she has said she had a decade earlier with Trump, who denies it.

A Manhattan jury in May found Trump, 78,

guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records

to cover up his reimbursement of Mr Cohen. It was the first time a US president – former or sitting – had been convicted of or charged with a criminal offence. Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years in prison, but incarceration is not required.

Before his Nov 5 election victory, legal experts told Reuters it was unlikely that Trump would be sentenced to prison due to his lack of a criminal history and advanced age, but that incarceration was not impossible.

The US Supreme Court in July ruled in a separate criminal case involving Trump that presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official actions taken in office, and that evidence of official acts could not be used in prosecuting a president over personal acts.

Trump’s lawyers have argued that meant the case should be dismissed because prosecutors used statements that Trump made while he was president and testimony from his White House aides. The filing by Mr Bragg’s office on Dec 10 said the hush money case involved “purely unofficial conduct”.

“Presidential immunity is supposed to protect a president’s official decision-making only while in office, not to forever insulate the president from criminal liability – especially for his unofficial conduct,” prosecutors wrote.

Justice Merchan in November delayed Trump’s previously scheduled Nov 26 sentencing indefinitely to give him the chance to seek dismissal.

In their filing, prosecutors repeated their suggestion that Justice Merchan defer all proceedings – including the sentencing – until Trump leaves the White House in January 2029. Alternatively, they said a non-incarceration sentence could minimise the case’s impact on Trump’s presidency. In their motion to dismiss, Trump’s lawyers called the idea that the sentence could be delayed until after he leaves office “ridiculous”.

The prosecutors wrote that while Trump should receive “temporary accommodations” to make sure the case does not interfere with his presidency, wiping out the jury’s verdict would represent an “extreme remedy”.

“President-elect immunity does not exist,” they wrote. “The overwhelming evidence of defendant’s guilt and the critical importance of preserving public confidence in the criminal justice system, among many other factors, weigh heavily against dismissal.”

Trump was charged in three other state and federal criminal cases in 2023, one involving classified documents he kept after leaving office and two others involving his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

He pleaded not guilty in all three cases. The Justice Department moved to dismiss the two federal cases after Trump’s election victory. REUTERS