JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
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 Ximena Bustillo has been covering the case and is here to help us unpack all of this. Hey there.
XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: Hey.
SUMMERS: So, Ximena, can you just start by telling us what the status of this case was before today?
BUSTILLO: 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 Merchan 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.
SUMMERS: Got it. OK, and why have there been so many delays already?
BUSTILLO: As we've often been saying throughout this process, it is all very unprecedented. A former or sitting U.S. 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 acknowledge 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.
SUMMERS: Interesting. OK, and how does this case echo what's happened in Trump's other legal cases?
BUSTILLO: 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 Steven Cheung 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 6 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, the case - or the case is dismissed, this is considered an open case.
SUMMERS: And Ximena, briefly, what are the options on the table for how this case could end?
BUSTILLO: 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.
SUMMERS: NPR's Ximena Bustillo. Thank you so much.
BUSTILLO: Thank you.
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