President-elect Donald Trump on Monday lost his attempt to have his criminal conviction related to hush money payments dismissed in a New York court. The claim was based on presidential immunity, but Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan rejected the argument. Donald Trump’s legal team had argued that the use of testimony from former White House employees at trial and before a grand jury, along with other evidence, should lead to the dismissal of the case.
In his ruling, Judge Merchan dismissed the claims that the evidence presented in the case warranted the dismissal of Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He has yet to rule on other arguments from Donald Trump’s defense, including the assertion that Donald Trump’s election to a second, non-consecutive term as president should have an impact on the case.
The judge’s decision on Monday also leaves open the question of when Donald Trump might be sentenced, should Merchan reject the remaining arguments for dismissal. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted Donald Trump, has suggested that sentencing could be delayed until after Donald Trump leaves the White House, with some speculation that he may not be sentenced to jail at all.
Donald Trump’s attorneys had cited a U.S. Supreme Court decision from July that granted presumptive criminal immunity to presidents for official acts performed in office. However, Judge Merchan ruled that even if he accepted that the contested evidence involved actions within Donald Trump’s presidential authority, it did not pose an intrusion on the functions of the executive branch. Judge Merchan emphasized that the evidence in question involved personal actions, such as falsifying business records, and stated that any potential error in admitting this evidence would be considered harmless due to the overwhelming evidence of guilt.
In response to the ruling, Donald Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, requested that sentencing be postponed until all appeals in the case were exhausted. Donald Trump was convicted in May of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 payment made by his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair with Donald Trump before the 2016 presidential election. Donald Trump has denied the affair.
Donald Trump’s transition spokesperson, Steven Cheung, criticized the decision, calling it a violation of the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling and other legal principles. He called for the immediate dismissal of the case, claiming it obstructed Donald Trump’s ability to perform presidential duties during the transition.
