President-elect Donald Trump is seen during his meeting with Prince William, Prince of Wales at the Embassy of the United Kingdom's Residence on December 7, 2024, in Paris, France. (Photo by Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images)
State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan is doubtless grappling with the unprecedented decision he must make in the case of The People of the State of New York v. Donald Trump. Among the various options he has, there is one he absolutely should not choose: to dismiss the case altogether.
Mr. Trump was convicted by a jury of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, crimes he committed in the course of paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged affair, to the tune of $130,000. The payment was made days before the 2016 election by Mr. Trump’s lawyer and longtime fixer, Michael Cohen, whom Mr. Trump later reimbursed while hiding it on his company’s books as a legal expense.
Since the jury’s May 23 verdict, though, Mr. Trump has won reelection. His lawyers, in a throw-everything-at-the-wall filing loaded with Mr. Trump’s trademark victimization and hyperbole, have moved once again for the........