Trump lawyers press judge to overturn hush money conviction after Supreme Court immunity ruling
CTV
Donald Trump's lawyers are urging the judge in his New York hush money case to overturn his conviction and dismiss the case in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent ruling on presidential immunity.
Donald Trump's lawyers are urging the judge in his New York hush money case to overturn his conviction and dismiss the case in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent ruling on presidential immunity.
The former president's lawyers laid out their case for reversing the guilty verdict in a court filing made public Thursday, denouncing Manhattan prosecutors for rushing to try Trump while the high court was still considering his immunity claims. Trump was convicted in May of falsifying records to cover up a potential sex scandal. He is the first ex-president convicted of a crime.
Trump's lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove urged the trial judge, Juan M. Merchan, to vacate the jury's verdict and dismiss the indictment, which would prevent prosecutors from retrying the case. Merchan has said he'll rule on the defence's requests on Sept. 6 and will sentence Trump on Sept. 18, "if such is still necessary." Prosecutors have until July 24 to respond to the defence's arguments.
"Rather than wait for the Supreme Court's guidance, the prosecutors scoffed with hubris at President Trump's immunity motions and insisted on rushing to trial," Blanche and Bove wrote. Addressing Merchan directly, they said: "Your Honor now has the authority to address these injustices, and the court is duty-bound to do so in light of the Supreme Court's decision."
The Manhattan district attorney's office declined comment.
The Supreme Court released its immunity decision on July 1, giving broad protections to presidents and insulating them from prosecution for official acts. It also restricted prosecutors from citing any official acts as evidence in trying to prove a president's unofficial actions violated the law.
Hours later, Trump's lawyers wrote a letter to Merchan asking him to set aside the verdict and to delay Trump's sentencing, which had been scheduled for Thursday. The Supreme Court did not define what constitutes an official act, leaving that to lower courts.
