Judge Rules that Donald Trump’s immunity from prosecution for money laundering is not protected by the Presidential Immunity
A New York Judge ruled today Donald Trump is not immune from his conviction for 34 felonies in the hush-money case.
Judge Juan Merchan ruled that the case was not a result of Trump’s official actions as president. Trump’s lawyers had asked for the case to be dismissed on the basis of a Supreme Court decision last year.
The case revolved around falsifications of business records relating to payments made to pornstar Stormy Daniels before Trump was elected president in 2016.
Merchan stated in his ruling that “the evidence in this case relates entirely to unofficial behavior and therefore, does not receive immunity protections.”
Trump’s lawyers argued that the conviction was invalid because the testimony of witnesses and other evidence were covered by immunity. They cited the fact that former White House officials such as Hope Hicks had testified.
Merchan wrote, “even if the Court were to view all the contested evidence as being official conduct within the outer boundaries of presidential authority
, it would find that the [Trump’s] use these acts as evidence for the decidedly private acts of falsifying records of business poses no threat of intrusion into the authority and function the executive branch. This conclusion is amply supported by evidence that does not relate to motive.”
He wrote that, even if evidence was admitted by mistake, it would not have been “harmful” to the case because of “the overwhelming evidence of guilt”.
Trump has not yet been sentenced. The lawyers for Trump also argue that the conviction should be overturned because of his recent win in the presidential elections. Alvin Bragg, the New York District attorney, opposes this move. He has, however, proposed alternatives to the judge. One of these is delaying the sentencing date until 2029 after Trump’s second term.
There’s more to come.
