Judge rejects Trump’s bid to throw out Stormy Daniels hush money conviction
Al Jazeera
A New York judge rejected a claim by Trump’s lawyers that he is immune from prosecution as a former US president.
A United States judge has rejected a claim by Donald Trump’s lawyers that the president-elect’s hush money conviction should be thrown out because the Supreme Court has ruled that former presidents are immune from prosecution.
New York Judge Juan Merchan said on Monday that the US Supreme Court’s decision granting immunity for “official acts” did not apply to testimony at Trump’s trial, which related “entirely to unofficial conduct entitled to no immunity protections”.
Merchan’s ruling is the latest development in the long-running case against the president-elect, in which sentencing is still pending.
In May, a New York City jury found Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents in relation to a payment of $130,000 made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.
Prosecutors convinced a jury that Trump’s payments were made to cover up a scandal that would have hurt his 2016 campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton, whom he ultimately beat.
