New York Judge Juan Merchan faces a choice of freezing President-elect Trump's hush money case in place until he leaves the White House or tossing it entirely, underscoring how Trump's election win has changed the dynamic of his legal travails.
Legal experts agree Trump’s election victory changes the trajectory of the prosecution and dooms the possibility he will serve punishment while Trump’s team is fighting to dismiss the case entirely.
Merchan has indefinitely adjourned what was to be the president-elect's Tuesday sentencing, after delaying the date multiple times, while the judge stares down the conundrum of the case’s future.
Merchan faces ‘uncharted waters’
Merchan’s decision to punt Trump’s sentencing until after the election now forces the judge to decide how to react to the former president’s White House victory.
“I think we've said it about 100 times in the last two years, but we're in uncharted waters,” said trial attorney Chris Timmons. “Nobody knows exactly what's going to happen.”
Legal observers said that, at minimum, the case cannot move forward during Trump’s presidency. But it remains to be seen whether Merchan will toss the jury’s 34-count guilty verdict and the entire case.
Merchan gave Trump’s lawyers until Monday to file their motion to dismiss the case in the interests of justice, known in New York as a Clayton motion.
Catherine Christian, a former Manhattan special assistant district attorney, said such motions are “rare and unusual.”
“I've only seen it in cases where, in a nonviolent case, someone who is addicted to drugs then gets to go into a drug treatment program for a year, maybe........