Attorneys for President-elect Donald Trump are requesting permission to file a motion to dismiss the business records case in Manhattan, contending that the U.S. Constitution mandates its “[i]mmediate dismissal.”
Trump’s defense attorneys, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, both of whom Trump has tapped to work in his Justice Department, sent a letter to Merchan requesting a December 20, 2024, deadline to file the motion to dismiss the case.
Trump Attorneys’ Request to File Motion to Dismiss in Business Records Case by Breitbart News on Scribd
Blanche and Bove point to the reported off-ramping of two separate cases against Trump at the federal level now that he is president-elect and said the same must happen in the business records case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.
“However, DOJ is reportedly preparing to dismiss the federal cases against President Trump, and will report its final decision to federal courts on December 2, 2024. As in those cases, dismissal is necessary here,” they write.
“The Constitution forbids ‘plac[ing] into the hands of a single prosecutor and grand jury the practical power to interfere with the ability of a popularly elected President to carry out his constitutional functions,'” Bove and Blanche continue.
The letter adds that Trump, as president-elect, “is completely immune from any criminal process,” in the same ways a sitting president is. They further contend that the “public interest in providing the President with the maximum ability to deal fearlessly and impartially with the duties of his office” also extends to “ongoing transition activities.”
Blanche and Bove suggest the case interferes with the transition of power under the Presidential Transition Act:
Thus, the Presidential Transition Act requires “all officers of the Government” to “take appropriate lawful steps to avoid or minimize disruptions that might be occasioned by the transfer of the executive power,” and to “promote orderly transitions in the office of President.” 3 U.S.C. § 102 note.
Continuing with this case would “be uniquely destabilizing” and threaten to “hamstring the operation of the whole governmental apparatus, both in foreign and domestic affairs.” OLC Memo at *7 (cleaned up). “Any disruption occasioned by the transfer of the executive power could produce results detrimental to the safety and well-being of the United States and its people.” 3 U.S.C. § 102 note. “[S]tates have no power . . . to retard, impede, burden, or in any manner control the operations of the constitutional laws enacted by [C[ongress,” including the Presidential Transition Act.
Bove and Blanche requested a December 20 deadline “so that President Trump has the opportunity to address in that submission the positions taken by DOJ in the federal cases,” which are expected December 2. They assert that before the Manhattan Supreme Court can issue a ruling on the immunity motion, it must “address these new issues, and dismiss the case.”
If Merchan grants the defense’s request to file a motion to dismiss, it would mark a significant win for Trump and put the case on course toward dismissal. Trump’s defense argues that the case should be stayed if Merchan rules against dismissal, and further action should only be taken after rulings come down on pending issues in the Federal Second Circuit.
“Moving forward in the absence of a ruling by the Second Circuit ‘would defeat the very purpose of permitting an appeal,’ as Congress has done in 28 U.S.C. § 1447(d),” they write. “That wrongful approach would be particularly problematic given the ‘question[s] of lasting significance’ at issue.”
The lawyers concluded that “the Nation’s People issued a mandate” on election night “that supersedes the political motivations of DANY’s ‘People.'”
“This case must be immediately dismissed,” Blanche and Bove add.
As of this writing, Merchan has not ruled on the request, though he did adjourn the sentencing hearing that had been set for November 26, Just the News noted. This adjournment came without explanation.
The letter comes in response to Bragg’s letter on Tuesday asking for a four-year freeze in sentencing Trump in the case. If Merchan went this route, the case would be frozen for the course of Trump’s presidency and await him once he leaves office.
Breitbart News senior legal contributor Ken Klukowski noted that the request out of Bragg’s office grants Trump’s team “breathing room to argue” in the Second Circuit.
“And second, it allows time for alternative moves if Merchan does not rule on the pending motions in a timely manner,” he added.
Trump’s team touted the prosecution’s request as a win.
“This is a total and definitive victory for President Trump and the American People who elected him in a landslide,” incoming White House Communications Director Cheung said in a statement.
“The Manhattan DA has conceded that this Witch Hunt cannot continue. The lawless case is now stayed, and President Trump’s legal team is moving to get it dismissed once and for all,” he added.
The cases are People v. Trump, No. 71543/23 in the Supreme Court of New York County, and New York v. Trump, No. 24-2299 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.