Defense attorneys for President-elect Donald Trump are citing President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, as grounds to dismiss Trump’s conviction in the Manhattan hush money case.
“Yesterday, President Biden issued a 10-year pardon to Hunter Biden, covering all crimes, charged or uncharged, claiming his son was ‘selectively and unfairly prosecuted’ and ‘treated differently,’” Trump’s lawyers stated in a motion.
The motion, filed by attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove—both selected for key Justice Department roles in Trump’s incoming administration—argues that Biden’s comments effectively criticize his own Justice Department. They also assert that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg engaged in similar “political theatre.”
Earlier this year, Bragg’s office successfully prosecuted Trump for falsifying business records related to hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. Following Trump’s reelection, Judge Juan Merchan indefinitely postponed sentencing in the case. Trump’s lawyers now seek to dismiss the conviction, but Bragg’s office has signaled it will fight any such effort.
In their filing, Trump’s attorneys also argue that his reelection provides additional grounds for dismissal, citing presidential immunity.
“President Trump’s status as President-elect and soon-to-be sitting President constitutes a ‘legal impediment’ to continued criminal proceedings under the presidential immunity doctrine established by the Supreme Court last summer and the Supremacy Clause,” the lawyers wrote.
They referenced special counsel Jack Smith’s decision to drop two federal cases against Trump last year, which Smith attributed to longstanding Justice Department policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president.
“Even Special Counsel Smith has conceded, per the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), that President Trump’s status as President-elect necessitates dismissal of these unjust prosecutions,” they argued.
Last month, Bragg’s office acknowledged in court that Trump will unlikely face sentencing until after his upcoming presidential term. However, it maintained that Trump’s felony conviction should remain in effect.
A source close to the district attorney’s office indicated openness to a four-year pause in the case.
“No current law requires that a president’s temporary immunity from prosecution results in dismissing a post-trial criminal proceeding initiated when the defendant was not immune. Nor does it mandate dismissal for conduct not protected by presidential immunity,” the district attorney’s office argued.
