Donald Trump challenges hush money conviction hours after immunity ruling
- The former US president was convicted on 34 felony counts in May tied to an attempt to cover up a hush-money payment
The former president’s lawyers on Monday took preliminary steps to request that a New York judge set aside the jury’s verdict against him, according to a person familiar with the situation who declined to be identified discussing nonpublic matters.
They also proposed delaying his July 11 sentencing in the meantime to allow time for briefing and arguments. The letter, which Trump’s lawyers will submit to Justice Juan Merchan, won’t be made public until at least Tuesday. They will ask for permission to formally argue that the conviction should be overturned.
The letter cited the US Supreme Court’s ruling and asked the judge to delay Trump’s sentencing while he weighs the high court’s decision and how it could influence the New York case.
The lawyers argue that the Supreme Court’s decision confirmed a position the defence raised earlier in the case that prosecutors should have been precluded from introducing some evidence they said constituted official presidential acts, according to the letter.
In prior court filings, Trump contended he is immune from prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office. His lawyers did not raise that as a defence in the hush money case, but they argued that some evidence – including Trump’s social media posts about former lawyer Michael Cohen – comes from his time as president and should have been excluded from the trial because of immunity protections.
