A judge Monday rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s bid to have his hush money conviction dismissed because of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling on presidential immunity. But the case's overall future remains unclear.
Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan's decision eliminates one potential off-ramp from the case ahead of Trump’s return to office next month. His lawyers have raised other arguments for dismissal, however.
Prosecutors have said there should be some accommodation for his upcoming presidency, but they insist the conviction should stand.
A jury convicted Trump in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels in 2016. Trump denies wrongdoing.
The allegations involved a scheme to hide the payout to Daniels during the final days of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign to keep her from publicizing — and keep voters from hearing — her claim of a sexual encounter with the married then-businessman years earlier. He says nothing sexual happened between them.
A month after the verdict, the Supreme Court ruled that ex-presidents can’t be prosecuted for official acts — things they did in the course of running the country — and that prosecutors can’t cite those actions to bolster a case centered on purely personal, unofficial conduct.
Trump’s lawyers then cited the Supreme Court opinion to argue that the hush money jury got some improper evidence, such as Trump’s presidential financial disclosure form, testimony from some White House aides and social media posts made while he was in office.
In Monday’s ruling, Merchan denied the bulk of Trump’s claims that some of prosecutors’ evidence related to official acts and implicated immunity protections.
The judge said that even if he found that some evidence related to official conduct, he’d still find that prosecutors’ decision to use “these acts as evidence of the decidedly personal acts of falsifying business records poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the Executive Branch.”
Even if prosecutors had erroneously introduced evidence that could be challenged under an immunity claim, Merchan continued, “such error was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt.”
Prosecutors had said the evidence in question was only “a sliver” of their case.
Trump communications director Steven Cheung on Monday called Merchan’s decision a “direct violation of the Supreme Court’s decision on immunity, and other longstanding jurisprudence.”
“This lawless case should have never been brought, and the Constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed,” Cheung said in a statement.
The Manhattan district attorney's office, which prosecuted the case, declined to comment.
Trump takes office Jan. 20.
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27 Comments
HopeSpringsEternal
This will be successfully appealed very soon, as Judge Merchan is corrupt and conflicted.
Blacklabel
Boy this one got emergency rush posted lol
corrupt and compromised judge gonna ride it out to the inevitable conclusion.
Blacklabel
people who know it was “unofficial conduct” don’t say this.
and people claiming no errors don’t say this:
Blacklabel
“Trump takes office Jan. 20.”
i just love a story with a happy ending.
Peter Neil
trump won’t be president for life.
the verdict and sentencing will still be around when he leaves office.
Tokyo Guy
A gesture of considerable integrity, but unfortunately as a country we've already decided that the law is to be selectively applied from now on.
HopeSpringsEternal
Would bet any amount of money this Hush Money Case verdict is over-turned on appeal, too many legal errors and lack of precedent for starters.
Peter14
Trump the convicted criminal, what an honor it will be to see him President again so we can all get 4 more years of his compulsive lying and inept political decisions. He may well try to pardon himself for his past crimes. But without doubt he will face more criminal charges once his second term ends anyway.
Whomever comes next as President number 48 is going to have one hell of a cleanup to fix all Trumps mistakes and to reconnect with traditional US allies.
Tokyo Guy
Whomever comes next as President number 48
Assuming there is one and the Supreme Court doesn't decide that from this point on, elections are too much hassle.
HopeSpringsEternal
Trump saved Democracy, Democrats thru this lawfare were very close to destroying it and that's one reason he won the election - voters want elections decided at the ballot box, not weaponization of Govt Justice Dept.
Nibek32
Looks like trump is still a felon. Not to mention to mention cheating on his pregnant wife with a hired woman.
No wonder Melania hates him.
Ken
Holding him accountable like this is the last chance to save America before it gets worse
ArtistAtLarge
He wasn't president when he committed the crime and he wasn't president when he was convicted. There is NO immunity.
Peter14
Trump is anti democracy, is a confirmed autocrat, and will do his utmost to kill off democracy. His first move will be to end term limits like his pals Xi and Putin did.
HopeSpringsEternal
Peter, many don't like Trump but liked his prior results. Turns out voters don't trust Govt., Media or Politicians, but selected Trump for future results he'll deliver.
US voters based on exit polling believe Biden/Harris were true threat to Democracy, Not Trump. Due to lawfare like this case, suppression of Social-Media Free Speech RFK experienced, RFK now suing Biden Admin etc.
bass4funk
As if we got the truth on anything these last 4 years
The Dems are so obsessed with this guy they can’t move forward because they can only think about this guy, 24/7 Trump delusion, I would just do it and get it over it. He should pardon himself.
Vance
If at all
bass4funk
Your point? You think he was the first President to have cheated on his wife.
No, she doesn’t.
nishikat
Trump is almost 80 and when he's gone (it will be soon) all these laws (interpreted and/or new) pertain to ANY president and ANY person. It's not just for Trump. It could be for me and you. You Trump people realize this right? Trump CANNOT run for a third term (right???) and he will not live forever (right???), but some Trump people think this since they say Trump was sent by Jesus. Laws are laws for humans, and NOT for Trump. If the courts make a law so Trump can weasel out of something it means the same for ANY president.
Norm
You always like to ask, “So you’ve talked to her?”
Melania doesn’t hate him. For sure.
So, we know this because you’ve talked to her?
bass4funk
Yes
How would you know?
No, but you did? No, you did not, so we can safely say, neither of us know for sure. We are all just speculating at this point, exactly
Norm
I haven’t talked to her, and if you look at my comment, I haven’t offered an opinion either way — I just repeated your opinion.
But you have offered a firm yes/no opinion. So you are sure she doesn’t hate him?
Blacklabel
“Specifically, Blanche argued that testimony from former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks; former Special Assistant to the President Madeleine Westerhout; testimony regarding The Special Counsel’s Office and Congressional Investigations and the pardon power; testimony regarding President Trump’s response to FEC Inquiries; his presidential Twitter posts and other related testimony was impermissably admitted during trial. “
Sounds quite official to me.
the Hope Hicks testimony was presented as the most crucial to the case in the closing arguments.
HopeSpringsEternal
Other Appeals Courts, maybe even SCOTUS will in the end determine if Presidential immunity 'tainted' legal proceedings, along with many other legal and ethical issues
For example, Judge Merchan's daughter being a bigtime Democratic $Fundraiser = family conflict of interest, Judge should have recused etc.
Blacklabel
how does this biased judge decision save America?
what exactly is the end result of “holding him accountable”?
Especially considering Joe helped his boy escape this same accountability?
bass4funk
As I have given my retort
Which is just that, what I did as well.
Are you sure she doesn’t love him
u_s__reamer
Merchan is corrupt and conflicted
? Proof? Hardly, I'm sure. The indicted and convicted felonious Don is the poster boy of corruption and sleaze - it's all there on his CV. What a disgrace to have such a rogue as president, but I suppose he's a perfect fit to lead the "free world" in its present state of moral degradation.
jib
Judge is a blo-hard