President-elect Donald Trump urges Justice Juan Merchan to dismiss Manhattan hush-money case

Donald Trump has asked a New York state judge to dismiss the criminal case in which he was convicted in May of 34 felony counts involving hush money paid to a porn star in light of his victory in the November US presidential election.

Justice Juan Merchan in last month delayed Mr Trump’s previously scheduled November 26 sentencing indefinitely to give him the chance to seek dismissal.

Mr Trump’s lawyers argue having the case loom over his four-year presidential term that begins on January 20 would cause “unconstitutional impediments” to the Republican businessman-turned-politician’s ability to govern.

Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office supported delaying the sentencing to give Mr Trump the chance to make his case for dismissal, though they said they would oppose that bid.

The prosecutors have until Monday to respond.

The judge has not indicated when he would rule on Mr Trump’s motion to dismiss, and has not set a new date for sentencing. Bragg’s office has suggested he defer all proceedings in the case until Trump, 78, leaves the White House in 2029.

The New York case stemmed from a $US130,000 ($A200,000) payment Mr Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she has said she had a decade earlier with Mr Trump, who denies it.

A Manhattan jury found Mr Trump guilty of falsifying business records to cover up his reimbursement of Cohen. It was the first time a US president - former or sitting - had been convicted of or charged with a criminal offence.

Mr Trump pleaded not guilty in the case, which he has sought to portray as a politically motivated attempt by Bragg, a Democrat, to interfere with his presidential campaign.

Falsification of business records is punishable by up to four years in prison. Before he was elected, experts said it was unlikely - but not impossible - that Mr Trump would face time behind bars, with punishments such as a fine or probation seen as more likely.

Mr Trump’s victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 election made the prospect of imposing a sentence of jail or probation even more politically fraught and impractical, given that a sentence could have impeded his ability to conduct the duties of the presidency.

Mr Trump was charged in three additional state and federal criminal cases in 2023, one involving classified documents he kept after leaving office and two others involving his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

He pleaded not guilty in all three cases. None have gone to trial.

A Washington judge on November 25 dismissed the federal criminal case over his attempts to hold onto power. Prosecutors had moved to drop both that case and the classified documents case due to a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

Mr Trump also faces state criminal charges in Georgia over his bid to reverse his 2020 loss in that state, but that case remains in limbo.

As president, Mr Trump would have no power to shut down the New York or Georgia cases because they were filed in state courts.

Mr Trump in November nominated his defence lawyers in the hush money case, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, to serve senior roles at the Justice Department during his administration.