By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) -A New York judge on Friday granted Donald Trump permission to seek dismissal of the criminal case in which he was convicted in May of 34 felony counts involving hush money paid to a porn star in light of his victory in the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election.
New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan formally delayed the sentencing of Trump, which had been scheduled to take place next Tuesday. Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office this week asked Merchan to consider deferring all proceedings in the case until after Trump, 78, finishes his four-year presidential term that begins on Jan. 20.
Lawyers for Trump, a Republican, have argued that the case must be dismissed because having it loom over him while he is president would cause “unconstitutional impediments” to his ability to govern.
Bragg’s office said it would argue against dismissal, but agreed that Trump deserves time to make his case through written motions.
Merchan on Friday set a Dec. 2 deadline for Trump to file his motion to dismiss, and gave prosecutors until Dec. 9 to respond. The judge did not set a new date for sentencing or indicate how long proceedings would remain on hold. Merchan also did not indicate when he would rule on Trump’s motion to dismiss.
Representatives for Trump’s campaign and for Bragg’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The case stemmed from a $130,000 payment 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 found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to cover up his reimbursement of Cohen. It was the first time a U.S. president – former or sitting – had been convicted of or charged with a criminal offense.
Trump pleaded not guilty in the case, which he has sought to portray as a politically motivated attempt by Bragg, a Democrat, to interfere with his campaign.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Will Dunham)
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