Manhattan prosecutors, led by District Attorney Alvin Bragg, have challenged former President Donald Trump's assertion that his criminal conviction should be overturned due to a recent Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. In a court filing released on July 24, the prosecutors contended that the Supreme Court’s decision does not affect their case, which involves hush money payments made to a porn star.
Trump, who was convicted on May 30 of 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records, had argued that the Supreme Court's ruling on July 1—which asserts that presidents cannot be charged with crimes related to official acts—should impact his case. The ruling clarified that evidence of official acts cannot be used in prosecutions concerning private matters.
The charges against Trump stem from an effort to conceal a $130,000 payment made by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to porn star Stormy Daniels. The payment was intended to silence Daniels about an alleged affair with Trump before the 2016 presidential election. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing and is appealing the conviction, claiming that the Supreme Court’s ruling supports his argument.
Prosecutors counter that the evidence used in Trump's case involved unofficial conduct and, at most, personal matters unrelated to his presidential duties. They argue that Trump’s claims of presidential immunity are not applicable since much of the conduct in question occurred before his presidency and is related to personal, not official, actions.
Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, has postponed Trump’s sentencing from July 11 to September 18, allowing time for Trump’s legal team to present their arguments. Trump’s defense has requested that the conviction be overturned, contending that evidence of his official acts, including his Twitter posts from 2018, was improperly admitted during the trial.
In their filing, prosecutors maintained that the posts in question were made in Trump’s “unofficial capacity” and were relevant to the case. Judge Merchan is expected to rule on Trump's arguments by September 6. Should the conviction be upheld, Trump will proceed to sentencing and could then appeal both the verdict and the sentencing to a higher state court.
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