Former President Donald Trump, through his legal team, has filed a motion with a New York judge to have his hush money conviction tossed out after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled early this month that presidents have “immunity” for official acts.
“The Court should dismiss the indictment and vacate the jury’s verdicts based on violations of the Presidential immunity doctrine and the Supremacy Clause,” Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche wrote in the motion, which was filed late Thursday, according to Fox News.
Trump was initially scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday after being convicted on 34 felony counts, but sentencing has now been pushed back until September to give the court time to consider the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Blanche argued that the recent decision should have implications for what evidence is permissible in court. Specifically, Blanche contended that evidence related to “official acts” should not have been admitted during the trial.
Fox added: “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. Trump attorneys also pointed to Trump’s disclosures to the Office of Government Ethics as president.”
Blanche argued that “official-acts evidence” that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg presented to the grand jury “contravened the holding in Trump because Presidents ‘cannot be indicted based on conduct for which they are immune from prosecution,'” the motion reads. “The Presidential immunity doctrine recognized in Trump pertains to all ‘criminal proceedings,’ including grand jury proceedings when a prosecutor ‘seeks to charge’ a former President using evidence of official acts.”
He further argued that Bragg “violated the Presidential immunity doctrine by using similar official-acts evidence in the grand jury proceedings that gave rise to the politically motivated charges in this case.”
“Because an Indictment so tainted cannot stand, the charges must be dismissed,” Blanche wrote.
Blanche also highlighted that the Supreme Court’s decision does not allow for an “overwhelming evidence” or “harmless error” exception to “the profound institutional interests at stake.”
“Indeed, Trump contemplates a pretrial interlocutory appeal of an adverse Presidential immunity determination precisely because even the prospect of such a trial is constitutionally unacceptable,” said the filing, per Fox. “It necessarily follows that the results of a trial conducted in breach of these holdings is invalid.”
The judge presiding over the case, Juan Merchan, rescheduled the sentencing hearing for September 18, “if such is still necessary.”
“The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on presidential immunity came from a question that stemmed from charges brought against Trump in a separate, federal case brought by special counsel Jack Smith related to the events of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol breach and any alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election,” Fox News reported.
Meanwhile, politically, Trump appears to be cruising to a victory over President Joe Biden.
The Cook Political Report has shifted five significant swing states and Nebraska’s swing district in favor of the former in its most recent prediction for the 2024 presidential election.
Amy Walter, the editor-in-chief of the non-partisan election forecaster, explained the changes to their electoral map, noting that “As of July 9, the Democratic Party is living in a state of suspended animation. Despite growing calls from many in his party to leave the contest, President Joe Biden has made clear he has no intention of dropping out.”
According to its most recent Electoral Map prediction, Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada have all moved from being classified as “toss-up” to “lean Republican,” giving Trump 268 electoral votes in his column; 270 are needed to win the presidency.
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