President-elect Donald Trump’s conviction in state court remained on the books Monday after a New York judge rejected Trump’s effort to have the case dismissed following a landmark Supreme Court ruling.
Judge Juan Merchan found: July Supreme Court ruling Granting Trump presidential immunity for official acts did not preclude a jury finding him guilty after his criminal trial this spring.
Merchan wrote that the evidence presented at trial concerned “completely unofficial conduct” that was beyond the scope of the Supreme Court ruling.
“If errors were made with respect to the introduction of the challenged evidence, those errors were harmless in light of the overwhelming incriminating evidence,” Merchan wrote.
Merchandise Judgment scheduled for November 12th Questioned whether presidential immunity should have prevented jurors from seeing certain evidence in Trump’s trial this spring, he deferred a decision. Merchan said he wanted to hear from prosecutors about how to proceed with the case, which entered uncharted territory with Trump being re-elected president at the time.
Trump has since filed another motion to dismiss the case, arguing that he needs the dismissal to return to the White House soon.
Prosecutors under Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg have fought that effort, saying there is no law requiring state cases to be dismissed after a defendant is convicted because he or she was elected president.
Trump is the first person in American history to be elected president after being convicted of a crime. He was also the first former president. be tried for a crime.
no way The jury unanimously found him guilty. Felony in May. A few weeks later, The Supreme Court declared immunity for the former president. From prosecution for official acts. In this ruling, the United States’ highest court said that evidence related to President Trump’s presidency cannot be used in the trial.
Trump’s defense team claims The Supreme Court ruling means the conviction must be set aside.And the charges were dismissed. They argued that his trial included testimony from former White House staffers that should have been suppressed.
Bragg’s office opposed the motion to dismiss, saying the testimony at issue was “a mountain of pieces” of evidence in the case.
In his ruling, Merchan wrote that Trump’s lawyers did not object to testimony they deemed improperly admitted during the trial.
The jury found this. Trump committed 34 felonies approving a plan to conceal refunds; michael cohenHis former lawyer and fixer. Cohen paid adult film star $130,000 stormy danielsIn exchange for remaining silent about allegations of sexual contact with Trump just days before the 2016 presidential election.
“Is the President’s conduct in office official or unofficial in concealing payments to adult film stars to keep from the public eye information related to encounters that occurred prior to his presidency?” Merchan asked at one point in the ruling. He concluded that it was an informal act, but later added to the president that even if it was not, “it is not dangerous to use such acts as evidence of personal actions to falsify business records.”
Trump has pleaded not guilty and strongly denied Daniels’ story. Trump promised to appeal the conviction. He can separately appeal Merchan’s ruling on presidential immunity.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung referred to Merchan as an “acting Justice of the Supreme Court,” and said, “Deeply conflicted in the Manhattan DA witch hunt, Justice Merchan’s decision directly violates the Supreme Court’s decisions on immunity and other long-standing legal principles.” The unlawful case should never have been brought, and the Constitution demands that it be dismissed immediately, because President Trump must be allowed to continue the presidential transition process and carry out the important duties of the presidency unhindered. “The sooner this hoax ends, the sooner our country can unite behind President Trump for the betterment of all Americans.”
