NEW YORK – The former president’s lawyers Donald Trump They asked New York Judge Juan M. Merchán to overturn the conviction or delay his sentencing, scheduled for next week, following the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity.
A letter sent to Merchán cited the ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States on Monday on the presidential immunity granted to Trump and asked the judge to delay the sentence while the decision of the Supreme Court and its possible influence on the New York case are considered, according to the letter.
Lawyers argue that the Supreme Court’s decision confirmed a position that the defense raised previously in the case that prosecutors should have been prevented from presenting much evidence that constituted official presidential acts, the letter states.
In previous court filings, Trump has maintained that he has presidential immunity from prosecution for conduct involving official acts while in office.
His lawyers argued that some evidence, including Trump’s social media posts about former lawyer Michael Cohen, came from his time as president and he should have been excluded from the trial due to immunity protections.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment Monday night.
Presidential immunity
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, a ruling that directly impacts allegations that the ex-president participated in an alleged conspiracy to overturn his much-disputed “defeat” in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump was convicted in New York on 34 charges of falsifying business records, many of which had never been used by the Department of Justice and which have yet to expire, as denounced by Republican lawmakers, legal experts and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson.
Prosecutors say Trump tried to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star who said she had had an intimate relationship with him for the sole purpose of making money and discrediting the then US president. Sentencing is scheduled for July 11.
The accusations against Trump, as denounced by the Republicans, are part of a campaign of discredit and political persecution against the man who created the largest conservative movement in the history of the country, MAGA (Make America Great Again), and revealed the corruption within a so-called Deep State that governs in the shadows of the White House. The objective has always been very clear: to eliminate the great obstacle (TRUMP) to the plans of the wrongly named progressive socialists inside and outside the US, which include the destruction of the Western capitalist economy and the conservative structures of American society.
Merchan instituted a policy in the pretrial period that required both sides to send him a one-page letter summarizing their arguments before filing longer court filings. He said he did this to better manage the docket so he wouldn’t be swamped with voluminous paperwork.
Of course, the prosecution will seek to argue that the charges are not related to the Trump administration, when the unusual political harassment stems from his duties as US President and to prevent him from returning to the White House. But now they are supposed to prove it. Will there be a new trial? Will the sentence be overturned? Many charges are now on hold.
Source: With information from AP.
