Gaetz nomination 'A less than 50-50 chance'

Prosecutors who secured Donald Trump's conviction over a hush-money payment have opposed his bid to have the case dismissed.

- Victoria Bekiempis

Trump, 78, had been scheduled to be sentenced next Tuesday, but New York State supreme court justice Juan Merchan last week put all proceedings in the case on pause at the request ofthe Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg's office.

The prosecutors said they would accept a delay but asked Merchan to set a deadline for Trump to formally seek dismissal ofthe case. The prosecutors suggested that they then be given until 9 December to oppose Trump's bid.

They also said consideration must be given to deferring all proceedings until after Trump finishes his four-year presidential term that begins on 20 January, but stopped short of explicitly endorsing that option.

Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump's campaign, in a statement called Bragg's position "a total and definitive Victory" for Trump.

Trump was convicted in May of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, made to the adult film actor Stormy Daniels for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump, who denies it.