Former President Donald Trump leaves court after a jury finds him guilty of all 34 felonies during his criminal trial at New York State Supreme Court, New York, USA, on May 30, 2024. ). Records related to payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign, when Trump faced 34 felony counts of business fraud.
via Justin Lane Reuter
President-elect Donald Trump lost an effort Monday in a New York court to dismiss his hush money conviction by claiming presidential immunity.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Marchan said Trump was forced to throw out the case because prosecutors used testimony from former White House officials and other evidence at trial and before the grand jury. He dismissed the claims of his lawyers.
Marchan has not yet ruled on other arguments by Trump’s lawyers that warrant dismissal of the case, including that Trump was elected to a second non-consecutive term last month.
It is unclear when Trump will be sentenced on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records if Marchand rejects the remaining arguments for his removal.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office, which prosecuted Trump, suggested to the judge that he could either delay sentencing until he leaves the White House or guarantee that he would not be sentenced to prison.
In the request that Marchan has now dismissed, Trump’s lawyers cited a July U.S. Supreme Court ruling that granted Trump and other U.S. presidents a presumption of impunity for their official actions while in office.
But Marchand wrote in his ruling that even if all of the evidence challenged by Trump’s lawyers turned out to be “defendant’s official acts within the scope of presidential authority,” prosecutors would still be able to “determine the case.” “I used it as evidence,” he said. It is clear that the private act of falsifying business records poses no risk of infringing on the powers and functions of the executive branch. ”
“Finally, this court concludes that even if there was an error in introducing the challenged evidence, such error is harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt,” Marchand wrote. This was stated in the 41-page judgment.
President Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche asked Marchand on Monday to postpone ruling on the case against the president-elect until all appeals have been completed.
Trump became the first former president to be convicted of falsifying business records in May by a Manhattan Supreme Court jury.
The record concerned a $130,000 payment made by then-President Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 presidential election. Mr. Cohen later said he received reimbursement from Mr. Trump in exchange for Mr. Daniels’ agreement to remain silent about his alleged one-time sexual relationship with Mr. Trump 10 years ago.
President Trump has denied having sex with Daniels.
The payments were made before Trump was first elected president. However, some of the evidence at trial was related to President Trump’s tenure in the White House.
“Today’s decision by Acting Judge Marchan, deeply contradictory in the Manhattan prosecutor’s witch hunt, is a direct result of the Supreme Court’s decision on immunity and other “This is a direct violation of long-standing precedent.”
“This lawless lawsuit should never have been filed, and the Constitution requires that President Trump be allowed to continue the presidential transition process and carry out the important duties of the presidency unencumbered by the fallout from this incident.” We are demanding that this case be dismissed immediately to prevent this from happening.’Anything else is a witch hunt,’ Chan said.