'President-elect immunity does not exist.' New York prosecutors defend Trump convictions

Manhattan prosecutors urged a New York criminal court to keep President-elect Donald Trump's hush money case alive, even if sentencing is pushed outpast Trump's next presidential term.

"President-elect immunity does not exist," lawyers from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office wrote in the court filing made public Tuesday. "At most, (Trump) should receive temporary accommodations during his presidency to prevent this criminal case from meaningfully interfering with his official decision-making."

Trump was convicted May 30 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. He was originally scheduled for sentencing in July, but the sentencing date was repeatedly pushed back.

Trump is now arguing that sentencing should be cancelled and the case should be dismissed as a result of his election.

"Burdening the Presidency with a biased prosecution by a local prosecutor would be not only unconstitutional, but also unbearably undemocratic to the people of this country who chose President Trump as their leader," Trump's legal team wrote in a motion calling for the case's dismissal.

Prosecutors float option of not sentencing Trump

Trump is making various legal arguments for getting the case tossed out, including that its continued existence – even with sentencing pushed out past his next presidential term – would improperly interfere with his upcoming presidency.

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It "would be egregious and unlawful for this Court to hold the prospect of a 2029 sentencing over President Trump's head while he continues his service to this Country," Trump's legal team wrote in his motion.

But Manhattan prosecutors said in the new filing that there are multiple options short of throwing out the jury's verdict that would address concerns about interfering with Trump's upcoming presidency.

If Trump isn't sentenced before he takes office, remaining steps in the case could be paused until his term is over, prosecutors said.

Or, if Judge Juan Merchan is worried that simply pausing the case would improperly burden Trump's presidency, Merchan could close the case while still putting a note in the court record stating that the jury's verdict removed Trump's presumption of innocence but he was never sentenced and his conviction was neither upheld nor struck down on appeal.

"On the one hand, this remedy would prevent defendant from being burdened during his presidency by an ongoing criminal proceeding," prosecutors said.

"On the other hand, this remedy would not precipitously discard ... the meaningful fact that defendant was indicted and found guilty by a jury of his peers," they added.

Prosecutors criticize Trump's character in defense of convictions

Trump has also argued that Judge Merchan should dismiss the case under a New York statute that authorizes throwing out an indictment "in furtherance of justice."

"President Trump's civic and financial contributions to this City and the Nation are too numerous to count. These factors strongly support dismissal," Trump's lawyers wrote.

However, prosecutors argued that multiple factors weigh against that option, including Trump's history and character.

Trump "threatened 'death and destruction' if he was indicted and posted a photo of himself wielding a baseball bat at the back of the District Attorney’s head," prosecutors noted.

"He made other statements directly addressing the grand jury; calling the District Attorney an 'animal,' a 'degenerate psychopath,' and 'HUMAN SCUM,'" they said.

If Trump is ever sentenced for the 34 felony convictions, Merchan has wide discretion over what that sentence should look like: he could decide Trump should spend years in prison, but he could also decide Trump shouldn't face time behind bars at all.