Prosecutors oppose tossing Trump’s hush money conviction but are open to sentencing delay

NEW YORK (AP) — New York prosecutors oppose any effort to dismiss President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money conviction, but they expressed openness Tuesday to delaying sentencing until after his second term.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office said in a court filing that Trump's forthcoming presidency isn't grounds for dropping a case that was already tried. But, citing “the need to balance competing constitutional interests," prosecutors said “consideration must be given” to shelving the case until after he's out of office.

At the least, prosecutors said they're OK delaying Trump's sentencing — which had been set for Nov. 26 — while his lawyers fight to get the case tossed out.

Judge Juan M. Merchan has not said when he will rule on the fate of the first criminal conviction of a former, and now future, U.S. commander-in-chief. But with the sentencing schedule now effectively on hold, Trump’s lawyers are pursuing multiple legal paths to try to dispose of the case — an effort that could reach the Supreme Court because of the unprecedented questions involved.