Former US President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower after the first day of his trial in New York City. (Adam Gray/AFP)
- Donald Trump wants his criminal conviction dismissed.
- A ruling on the dismissal motion is expected on 6 September.
- The Supreme Court ruled that a president enjoys “absolute immunity” for official acts.
Lawyers for Donald Trump on Thursday asked the judge who presided over his hush money trial to throw out his conviction, citing the recent Supreme Court ruling that a former US president enjoys broad immunity from prosecution.
“The jury’s verdicts must be vacated and the indictment dismissed,” Trump’s attorneys said in a court filing with New York Judge Juan Merchan.
Trump, 78, was convicted in New York in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels, who alleged she had a sexual encounter with the real estate tycoon.
Trump’s lawyers, in asking Merchan for the conviction to be dismissed, cited the landmark Supreme Court ruling from earlier this month that a president enjoys “absolute immunity” for official acts.
Some of the evidence introduced by prosecutors during the hush money trial involved actions taken while Trump was in the White House and testimony from White House aides, they said.
READ | Donald Trump becomes America’s first criminal ex president; guilty on all 34 counts
Trump, who is expected to be formally named the Republican Party nominee for president next week, had been scheduled to be sentenced in the case on Thursday, but Merchan postponed sentencing following the Supreme Court ruling.
Merchan said he will rule on the Trump dismissal motion on 6 September and hold sentencing – if still necessary – on 18 September.
Former US President Donald Trump (R), with his attorney Todd Blanche, attends the second day of his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs, in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City. (Mark Peterson/Pool/AFP)
Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg said in an earlier court filing that he was not opposed to the sentencing delay, but that he believed the “defendant’s (dismissal) arguments to be without merit”.
Trump, the first former US president convicted of a crime, faces four criminal cases and has been doing everything in his power to delay the trials until after the November election.
He faces charges in Washington and Georgia related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump is also accused in an indictment filed in Florida of endangering national security by holding onto top secret documents after leaving the White House.
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