President-elect Donald Trump's lawyers called a suggestion by Manhattan prosecutors "unhinged" when they said the judge should employ a legal option typically used when a defendant dies before sentencing to preserve Trump's "hush money" conviction, according to CBS News.
Prosecutors, in a filing this week, urged Judge Juan Merchan to preserve the incoming president's conviction on 34 felony counts in light of Trump's returning to the White House "with a notation that the jury verdict has not been vacated and the indictment has not been dismissed."
The legal maneuver arises when defendants die before the case is concluded, the report said.
The prosecutors for District Attorney Alvin Bragg called it a "novel" solution.
Trump's lawyers, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, called it "unhinged."
The lawyers said it's "an extremely troubling and irresponsible analogy between President Trump—who has survived multiple assassination attempts, and will soon be 'the only person who alone composes a branch of government'—and a hypothetical dead defendant."
Trump was convicted in the "hush money" case in May, but his sentencing has been delayed several times and his winning the presidential election in November adds another wrinkle to the case.
Bragg has maintained that Trump's election victory shouldn't have any bearing on the decision by the jurors.
Trump's legal team are seeking to have the case dismissed, arguing presidential immunity requires that the case be dropped.
Originally published by Latin Times
