Prosecutors say immunity ruling has no bearing on Trump’s conviction
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Donald Trump faces up to four years in prison, though the judge could sentence him to a few weeks in jail or even probation.
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NEW YORK – Manhattan prosecutors are urging the judge who oversaw Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial to uphold his conviction, seeking to cast doubt on the former president’s long-shot bid to overturn the case because of a recent Supreme Court ruling.
In a court filing made public on July 25, the Manhattan district attorney’s office argued that the Supreme Court’s decision in July granting Trump broad immunity for official actions he took in the White House had “no bearing on this prosecution”.
The Manhattan charges did not hinge on official acts; instead, prosecutors noted, Trump was convicted of covering up a sex scandal that had threatened to derail his 2016 campaign, which did not involve his conduct as president.
In May, a jury of 12 New Yorkers convicted Trump on all 34 felony counts
Trump repaid Cohen soon after ascending to the presidency and approved plans to lie on company paperwork to hide the nature of the reimbursement, the jury found.
In a recent filing to Justice Juan Merchan, who presided over the Manhattan trial, Trump’s lawyers contended the Supreme Court’s decision had invalidated at least some evidence presented in Manhattan, including the testimony of former White House employees and tweets Trump sent as president.
The Supreme Court had held that official acts could be inadmissible as evidence – even if a case concerned private misconduct.
But Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg fired back this week, arguing that Trump’s lawyers had missed their window of opportunity to raise the immunity defence and then distorted the Supreme Court’s ruling once it emerged.
Mr Todd Blanche, a lawyer for Trump, declined to comment on the district attorney’s filing. But in a two-page letter to the judge on July 25, he attacked “the jury’s flawed and unjust” verdict and argued that the prosecutors’ filing contained several “legal and factual misrepresentations”.
Justice Merchan agreed to rule on the verdict on Sept 6. If he sides with prosecutors and upholds the conviction, he will impose a sentence on Sept 18. Trump faces up to four years in prison, though the judge could sentence him to a few weeks in jail or even probation. NYTIMES
