Trump defense lawyers want New York City hush money case dismissed

NEW YORK (WABC) — President-elect Trump’s criminal conviction in New York must be dismissed “to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power,” defense attorneys argued Wednesday in a letter to the court.

Defense attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, now Trump’s picks for the second and third-highest jobs in the Justice Department, sought the judge’s permission to file a motion to dismiss the case.

“Continuing with this case would be uniquely destabilizing,” the defense letter said.

“Just as a sitting President is completely immune from any criminal process, so too is President Trump as President-elect.” It’s an unprecedented application of presidential immunity since no President-elect has ever been convicted of a crime.

The defense filing comes one day after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg opposed dismissing the case but consented to freeze of all remaining proceedings, including sentencing, until after Trump completes his term.

The defense sought a December 20 deadline to file its motion to dismiss Trump’s 34-count felony conviction for falsifying business records.

Blanche and Bove said it would give Trump time to address “the positions taken by DOJ in the federal cases” Trump faces over January 6 and his handling of classified documents. Both of the federal cases are paused while the Justice Department evaluates how to proceed.

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