Posted by [ad_1]
A Supreme Court ruling on Donald Trump’s immunity for “official acts” while he was president has no bearing on his conviction on charges of falsifying business records in New York, prosecutors say states argued in a filing published Thursday.
In a filing arguing against Trump’s offer to drop the indictment and guilty verdict on 34 felony counts, prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said that the Supreme Court’s decision in the federal election interference case against Trump “has nothing to say about the defendant’s conviction” in his case.
“At issue in the Supreme Court’s decision was whether the defendant could be prosecuted federally ‘for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure.'” The criminal charges here, by contrast, arose exclusively from “non-official acts ” of the accused – conduct for which there is “no immunity”, the DA’s document said.
Furthermore, “the evidence that he claims is affected by the Supreme Court’s decision constitutes only part of the mountains of testimony and documentary evidence that the jury considered to convict him of all 34 felony charges beyond a reasonable doubt reason,” the DA argued.
The former president’s lawyers argued earlier this month that the High Court’s decision, issued on July 1, had implications for his conviction in the week-long hush money trial, citing several examples of what which they described as “evidence of inadmissible official acts” presented at the trial which under the new sentence of the Supreme Court cannot be introduced because they touch on the “core” presidential functions.
They testified about his private conversations with former White House communications director Hope Hicks, discussions around his pardon power, and even his use of presidential posts on Twitter were all improperly admitted. , and therefore, Trump should be entitled to a new one. test – or more.
“To vindicate the doctrine of presidential immunity, and protect the interests involved from its foundations, the verdicts of the jury must be annulled and the indictment dismissed,” said the file.
Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, declined to comment on the prosecutor’s new filing, but sent a letter to Judge Juan Merchan asking for permission to respond to the prosecutor’s “legal and factual distortions.”
Merchan is expected to rule on the issue by September 6.
Trump was originally scheduled to be sentenced in the case on July 11, but the judge delayed sentencing until at least September 18 to consider Trump’s arguments.
Trump was convicted of all counts against him in May, the first time a former president has been convicted of criminal charges. If the sentence goes forward, he faces penalties ranging from a fine to four years in prison per count.
Prosecutors said Trump falsified business records related to a hush money payment his former lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of the presidential election. 2016. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.