A Supreme Court decision 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, state prosecutors argued in a filing made public Thursday.
In a filing arguing against Trump’s bid to dismiss the indictment and guilty verdict on 34 felony counts, prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said the Supreme Court’s ruling in the federal election interference case against Trump “has nothing to say about defendant’s conviction” in its case.
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“At issue in the Supreme Court’s decision was whether defendant could be federally prosecuted ‘for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office.’ The criminal charges here, by contrast, exclusively stem from defendant’s ‘unofficial acts’ — conduct for which ‘there is no immunity,’” the DA’s filing said.
Further, “the evidence that he claims is affected by the Supreme Court’s ruling constitutes only a sliver of the mountains of testimony and documentary proof that the jury considered in finding him guilty of all 34 felony charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” the DA argued.
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Attorneys for the former president argued earlier this month that the high court’s decision, issued July 1, had implications for his conviction in the weekslong hush money trial, citing several examples of what they described as “impermissible official-acts evidence” introduced at trial that under the Supreme Court’s new ruling cannot be introduced because they touched on “core” presidential duties.
They contended testimony about his private conversations with former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, discussions around his pardon power, as well as the use of his presidential posts on Twitter were all wrongly admitted, and as a result, Trump should be entitled to a new trial — or more.
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“In order to vindicate the Presidential immunity doctrine, and protect the interests implicated by its underpinnings, the jury’s verdicts must be vacated and the Indictment dismissed,” the filing said.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche declined comment on the DA’s new filing, but he submitted a letter to Judge Juan Merchan asking for permission to respond to the DA’s “legal and factual misrepresentations.”
Merchan is expected to rule on the issue by Sept. 6.
Trump was initially scheduled to be sentenced in the case on July 11, but the judge delayed the sentencing until at least Sept. 18 in order to consider Trump’s arguments.
Trump was convicted on all counts against him in May, the first time a former president has ever been convicted of criminal charges. If the sentencing goes forward, he faces penalties ranging from a fine to four years in prison per count.
Prosecutors alleged 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 2016 presidential election. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
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