Judge Juan Merchan has denied President-elect Donald Trump’s request for a three-day extension — i.e., until Thursday, December 5 — to file a motion to dismiss the state criminal case against him.
Merchan’s ruling, in a brief letter to Trump’s counsel, is along the lines of what I discussed in a post earlier today: Rather than waiting until his December 2 deadline, Biden-Harris Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith moved yesterday to dismiss the federal prosecutions against Trump (a motion Judge Tanya Chutkan quickly granted in the Washington case — under circumstances in which the Florida indictment was already dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon); therefore, Trump does not need additional time beyond the December 2 filing deadline Merchan had imposed to assess the impact, if any, Smith’s actions might have on the state case.
As I added this morning, I expect that shortly after Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg files his brief in opposition to Trump’s coming dismissal motion — which is now scheduled to be filed on December 9 — Judge Merchan will deny both the new motion to dismiss (based on Trump’s election as president) and his already pending motion to dismiss (largely based on the Supreme Court’s July 1 immunity ruling).
Of course, Judge Merchan could grant one of Trump’s motions to dismiss (I think the pending one has merit). But Merchan has ruled Bragg’s way throughout the case, and I don’t expect that to chance. Assuming I am correct that Merchan denies Trump’s motions and does so prior to the Christmas holidays, the next question will be whether Trump is permitted to immediately appeal those decisions or whether, instead, Judge Merchan tries to sentence him and enter the judgment of conviction before Trump is inaugurated as president on January 25.
An immediate appeal is likely. As I recounted this morning, Bragg did not object to the postponement of Trump’s sentencing while the dismissal motions are litigated, and he has signaled that he is open to having the case held in abeyance while Trump serves his four-year term.
Notwithstanding the position Trump is sure to take in his dismissal motion, New York’s prosecutors and courts are not bound by the determination of the Justice Department, endorsed by the federal courts, that the cases against Trump must be dismissed without prejudice rather than suspended during the duration of his presidency.