NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s legal team is requesting the judge to overturn his conviction and dismiss the case in his New York hush money case following the recent ruling on presidential immunity by the Supreme Court.
Trump’s lawyers argue that prosecutors hurried to try Trump in the spring while the high court was still considering his immunity claims. Trump was convicted in May of falsifying records to conceal a potential sex scandal, making him the first former president to be convicted of a crime.
Trump’s lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove stated, “Rather than wait for the Supreme Court’s guidance, the prosecutors rushed to trial and the court now has the authority to address these injustices in light of the Supreme Court’s decision.”
Judge Merchan is expected to rule on the defense’s requests on Sept. 6 and provide a sentencing decision on Sept. 18. Prosecutors have until July 24 to respond to the defense’s arguments.
After the Supreme Court’s ruling on July 1, Trump’s lawyers brought it to Merchan’s attention, asking him to set aside the jury’s guilty verdict.
The Supreme Court’s decision granted broad immunity protections to presidents for official acts, preventing prosecutors from using such acts as evidence in proving unofficial actions violated the law. The definition of an official act was left to lower courts to determine.
Trump’s legal team argued that some evidence presented during the trial, including Trump’s conversations with Hope Hicks, some tweets, and certain checks and invoices from his time as president, should not have been allowed for the jury to consider.
The trial commenced on April 15, before the Supreme Court heard arguments on the immunity issue on April 25.
Trump was convicted on May 30 on 34 felony counts in connection to a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. Despite vowing to appeal the conviction, Trump cannot do so until after his sentencing.
Prosecutors alleged that the Daniels payment was part of a scheme to silence individuals with embarrassing stories about Trump’s extramarital affairs during the campaign.
Throughout the trial, witnesses including Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels testified, while Trump declined to testify on his own behalf.
Although Trump’s lawyers previously invoked presidential immunity in an attempt to move the case to federal court, Judge Hellerstein rejected the claim, stating that the matter was a personal issue for Trump rather than an official duty.
The ongoing fight for immunity and the resulting delay in sentencing have postponed any potential prison sentences, fines, or other punishments until after the Republican nomination of Trump as their presidential candidate at the upcoming convention.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.
