New York City – In a stunning reversal that has President Donald Trump savoring sweet payback, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg requested a stay in the hush money conviction case until 2029 on Tuesday, effectively shelving the proceedings for the duration of Trump’s second term. The move, detailed in an 82-page court filing, concedes to presidential immunity arguments while opposing outright dismissal—a concession Trump’s allies hail as “disbarred in disgrace” for the prosecutor who turned a misdemeanor bookkeeping flap into 34 felonies.
Bragg’s office, after a six-week spectacle in 2024 that captivated the nation, now admits the case’s viability hinges on Trump’s post-inauguration status. “While we oppose dismissal, we are open to briefing on the defense’s motion,” prosecutors wrote, acknowledging the Supreme Court’s July immunity ruling shields official acts. Trump’s team, led by attorney Todd Blanche, pounced with a dismissal bid, arguing the trial’s “official-acts evidence”—including White House disclosures—violates constitutional protections. Sentencing, originally set for November 26, is frozen, rendering the conviction a hollow victory for Bragg.
Trump, campaigning in Ohio, crowed on Truth Social: “Alvin Bragg’s witch hunt is DEAD—radical left lawfare crumbles!” GOP heavyweights piled on. Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., demanded Bragg be “disbarred in disgrace,” accusing him of “political hackery” that weaponized NDAs into gangster charges. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan vowed congressional probes into Bragg’s office, citing Michael Cohen’s testimony as a “house of cards built on a disbarred perjurer.” The case, once Bragg’s crown jewel, now teeters: Federal prosecutors in the Southern District declined it in 2018 over Cohen’s unreliability, a decision Bragg overrode with a novel “another crime” theory elevating falsified records.
Democrats decry the stay as a “Trump pardon,” with Bragg’s team insisting it preserves accountability. Yet with midterms looming and Trump’s deportation machine humming—2.1 million exits tallied—the delay feels like defeat. For the DA who promised to “hold Trump accountable,” it’s a bitter pill: From historic conviction to historical footnote, served cold by the man he sought to cage.
