New York Judge, Juan Merchan has rejected a bid by Donald Trump’s lawyers for the President-elect’s hush money conviction to be thrown out because the Supreme Court has ruled that former Presidents are immune from prosecution.
Merchan declared that the US Supreme Court’s decision granting immunity for “official acts” did not apply to testimony at Trump’s trial, which related “entirely to unofficial conduct entitled to no immunity protections.”
In the 41-page decision, Merchan sided with Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg’s office, which brought the case.
The prosecutors argued their case dealt with Trump’s personal conduct, not his official acts as President.
In the ruling, Merchan denied the bulk of Trump’s claims that some of prosecutors’ evidence related to official acts and implicated immunity protections.
The judge said that even if he found that some evidence related to official conduct, he’d still conclude that prosecutors’ decision to use “these acts as evidence of the decidedly personal acts of falsifying business records poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the Executive Branch.”
Even if prosecutors had erroneously introduced evidence that could be challenged under an immunity claim, Merchan asserted that “such error was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt.”
Merchan’s decision noted that part of the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling declared that “not everything the president does is official.”
Merchan added that Trump’s social media posts, for example, were personal.
Merchan’s ruling is the latest development in the long-running case against the President-elect, in which sentencing is still pending.
In May, a New York City jury found Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents in relation to a payment of $130,000 made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.
Prosecutors convinced a jury that Trump’s payments were made to cover up a scandal that would have hurt his 2016 campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton, whom he ultimately beat.
Trump’s sentencing was initially set for July 11, was later pushed to November 26, but Justice Merchan pushed that back indefinitely after his election win.
Cheung Slams Merchan’s Decision
In a statement, Trump spokesperson, Steven Cheung called Merchan’s decision “a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s decision on immunity, and other longstanding jurisprudence.”
He added, “This lawless case should have never been brought, and the Constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed.”
Following Trump’s victory in the November 5, 2024 presidential election, Trump’s lawyers pressed Merchan to throw the case out, “to facilitate the orderly transition of executive power — and in the interests of justice.”
New York prosecutors have said that there should be some accommodation for Trump’s upcoming presidency, stating that they are open to delaying sentencing until after Trump’s second term as President but have pushed back against his lawyer’s claims the case should be dismissed outright.
Trump could face a prison sentence of up to four years for each felony count, though court observers say it is unlikely he would face time behind bars as opposed to probation or community service.
Trump’s second term as President will officially begin on January 20, 2025.
He is the first US President, past or present, to be charged and convicted of a crime.
The hush money case is only one of several legal cases the former reality television star has been involved in.
In late November, US Special Counsel Jack Smith moved to dismiss two criminal cases that accused Trump of seeking to overturn his 2020 election defeat and of mishandling secret government documents, citing his pending return to the White House.
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