Presidency isn't grounds for dropping Trump hush money case, prosecutors say

NEW YORK CITY - New York prosecutors said Tuesday they'll oppose dismissing President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money case as his sentencing looms, but they expressed some openness to delaying it until after his impending second term.

In a court filing Tuesday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said his forthcoming presidency isn't grounds for dropping a case that was already tried. But "given the need to balance competing constitutional interests," prosecutors said, consideration must be given "to potentially freezing the case until after he's out of office."

Trump was convicted in May of falsifying business records to cover up a scheme to influence the 2016 election by paying hush money to a porn actor who said they’d had sex. Trump denies the allegations.

Judge Juan M. Merchan had given prosecutors until Tuesday to share their thoughts on how to proceed with the case, which had been scheduled for sentencing Nov. 26.

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Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed.