Trump's Trials - Manhattan D.A. suggests postponing Trump's sentence until he's out of office

Episode Date: November 19, 2024

For this episode of Trump's Trials, All Things Considered host Juana Summers speaks with NPR reporter Ximena Bustillo.Manhattan judge Juan Marchand is struggling with the question of what to do with the criminal conviction against President-elect Donald Trump. With Trump headed back to the White House, his lawyers are asking Marchand to throw out the case. But in a letter to the court on Tuesday, Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg seems to be suggesting the court should wait until Trump's second term is over to sentence him.Follow the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for new episodes each Saturday.Sign up for sponsor-free episodes and support NPR's political journalism at plus.npr.org/trumpstrials.Email the show at [e-mail] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's Trump's Trials from NPR. I'm Scott Detro. We love Trump! This is a persecution. He actually just stormed out of the courtroom. Innocent to proven guilty in a court of law. There's some news in one of former President Trump's cases today. So we're going to share a story that just aired on NPR.

And then we'll be back with more in our usual episode on Saturday. Thanks for listening. The ocean floor is abundant with minerals needed to power electric cars and other green technologies. But mining those minerals may harm coastal communities. These metals that are going to be dig out of our ocean will not benefit anyone from here. On the Sunday story from Up First, a look at the opportunity and dangers of mining the

ocean floor. Listen now on the Up First podcast from NPR. You're listening to Trump's Trials. I'm Scott Detro. And now here's Ju one of Summers. President-elect Donald Trump is hoping for another legal win today in his New York criminal trial. In May, Trump was found guilty on more than 30 felony counts of falsifying business records.

But now that he's about to become president again, officials are dealing with an unprecedented legal situation and a judge must decide what to do. NPR's Jimena Bustillo has been covering the case and is here to help us unpack all of this. Hey there. Hey. So Jimena, can you just start by telling us what the status of this case was before today? Well, as you mentioned in May, Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business

records. This was decided by a 12-person jury, but he has yet to be sentenced. New York Judge Juan Marchand has already postponed the sentencing a couple times. His previous delay was specifically to wait for the election in an attempt to remove a perception of political bias. In court filings today, the Manhattan District attorney said he wasn't opposed to a further stay of the sentencing while both sides make their arguments about whether or not the case should actually be completely dismissed. Trump's lawyers want it thrown out because Trump was

elected to a second term in the White House and because of a Supreme Court ruling giving presidents immunity from prosecution of official acts in office. Trump's defense had argued the trial partly relied on evidence taken from Trump's first term and his time at the White House. But the Manhattan prosecutors on the case say that the jury's deliberations, which came before the July Supreme Court ruling, should be given weight. Got it. Okay, why have there been so many delays already? As we've often been saying throughout this process,

it is all very unprecedented. A former or sitting US president had never before been tried and convicted of criminal charges. And now he's going to be president again. In the filings from earlier today, prosecutors pointed out that they are mindful of how Trump's upcoming inauguration date in January raises new legal questions.

Ultimately, prosecutors acknowledged that there's no current law to decipher how a president can or not be prosecuted based on acts related outside of the presidency when they're about to be president again. Interesting. Okay. And how does this case echo what's happened in Trump's other legal cases? Trump has long said that this and other civil and criminal lawsuits were witch hunts against

him. After Manhattan prosecutors asked for the delay in sentencing today, Trump campaign spokesperson Stephen Chung called it, quote, a total and definitive victory. Election results halted all the other criminal cases as well. Yesterday, the Georgia Court of Appeals canceled arguments in a criminal trial where Trump was charged with conspiring to manipulate the results of the 2020 election in the state. And special counsel Jack Smith is also taking steps to wind down two federal cases against Trump, one related to the January 6th insurrection, and another for allegedly keeping classified documents after he left office.

Now, back to New York, legal experts point out that this is the criminal case that made it the furthest. None of the others even saw a trial, and they say that until Trump is sentenced or the case is dismissed, this is considered an open case. And Amanda, briefly, what are the options on the table for how this case could end? Well, in the filings today, the DA seemed to suggest

that he'd be open to putting a pin in proceedings until Trump is out of office after 2028. The Trump legal team wants this thrown out altogether, which means the jury verdict would also be dismissed. But again, these are unprecedented times and it's hard to predict the exact outcome that we'll see. NPR's Ximena Bustillo, thank you so much. Thank you.

Thanks for listening to Trump's Trials from NPR. Keep an eye out for more episodes like this whenever big news happens. I'm Scott Netero. You care about what's happening in the world. Let State of the World from NPR keep you informed. Each day we transport you to a different point on the globe and introduce you to the people living world events. We don't just tell you world news, we take you there. And you can make this journey while you're doing the dishes or driving your car. State of the World

podcast from NPR, vital international stories every day. Every weekday, NPR's best political reporters come to you on the NPR Politics Podcast to explain the big news coming out of Washington, the campaign trail, and beyond. We don't just want to tell you what happened, we tell you why it matters. Join the NPR Politics Podcast every single afternoon to understand the world through political eyes. You care about what's happening in the world. Let State of the World from NPR keep you informed.

Each day we transport you to a different point on the globe and introduce you to the people living world events. We don't just tell you world news, we take you there. And you can make this journey while you're doing the dishes or driving your car. State of the World podcast from NPR. Vital international stories every day.