Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling that President Donald Trump has some presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken to overturn results of the 2020 election, Trump on Monday sought to have his conviction thrown out in his New York criminal hush money case, according to sources.
Trump’s lawyers said the hush money verdict should be tossed because the jury saw evidence during trial that they believe should have been protected by presidential immunity, according to a letter to Judge Juan Merchan that was described by sources to ABC News.
The defense sought additional time to make their argument — a move that could delay Trump’s sentencing, which is currently scheduled for July 11.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office and a representative from Trump’s legal team declined to comment to ABC News.
A jury in May took less than ten hours to convict Trump of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in an effort to boost his chances in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump’s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, wired Daniels $130,000 and Trump reimbursed him in monthly installments disguised as routine legal expenses, prosecutors said.
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event, April 2, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Paul Sancya/AP
Trump’s defense team previously invoked a presidential immunity argument in an unsuccessful effort to limit evidence and delay the trial.
In March, defense lawyers sought to exclude a government ethics form that disclosed Trump’s reimbursement to Cohen, as well as a series of tweets from 2018 that prosecutors alleged were part of a “pressure campaign” against Cohen.
“Under these appropriate standards, President Trump’s social media posts and public statements — while acting as President and viewed in context — fell within the outer perimeter of his Presidential duty, to which communicating with the public on matters of public concern was central,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in the March motion that the judge rejected ahead of the trial.
Former President Donald Trump is reportedly seeking to have his hush money conviction in New York overturned following a recent Supreme Court ruling. According to sources close to the matter, Trump’s legal team is preparing to file a motion to vacate the conviction based on the high court’s decision in a separate case involving campaign finance laws.
In 2018, Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to charges related to hush money payments made to two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump. Cohen admitted to making the payments at Trump’s direction in order to silence the women and prevent their allegations from becoming public during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump was not charged in connection with the hush money payments, but prosecutors in New York alleged that he was involved in a conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws. In 2019, Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg was also charged in connection with the case.
The Supreme Court recently issued a ruling in a case involving former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, in which it narrowed the definition of “official act” under federal corruption laws. The ruling has raised questions about the legal basis for Trump’s conviction in New York, as well as other cases involving public officials accused of corruption.
Trump’s legal team is expected to argue that the hush money payments were not illegal campaign contributions, but rather personal expenses made by Cohen on behalf of Trump. They may also point to the Supreme Court’s McDonnell decision as precedent for overturning Trump’s conviction.
It remains to be seen how the courts will respond to Trump’s motion to vacate his conviction. Legal experts have noted that the McDonnell ruling may not directly apply to Trump’s case, as it involved different legal issues and factual circumstances. However, Trump’s legal team is likely to make a vigorous argument in support of overturning the conviction.
The outcome of this legal battle could have significant implications for Trump’s future political ambitions. If his conviction is overturned, it could bolster his claims of innocence and potentially pave the way for a political comeback. On the other hand, if the conviction is upheld, it could further tarnish his reputation and make it more difficult for him to mount a successful political campaign in the future.
Overall, the effort to have Trump’s hush money conviction overturned is likely to be a closely watched and hotly contested legal battle in the coming months. As the case unfolds, it will be important to pay attention to how the courts interpret the law and apply it to the specific facts of Trump’s case.
