Sentencing in Trump's NY case might be delayed
Lawyers' request comes after court's decision on presidential immunity
By: Aysha Bagchi
USA Today
..... Former President Donald Trump's upcoming sentencing in his New York hush money case might be delayed to address if the historic conviction should be thrown out after the Supreme Court's Monday [07/01/2024] ruling that presidents enjoy broad immunity from criminal prosecution.
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A Manhattan jury on May 30 [2024] found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying records tied to a hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
..... However, Trump's legal team sent a letter to Judge Juan Merchan on Monday [07/01/2024] seeking permission to file a motion arguing that the verdicts should be wiped out.
..... The Manhattan District Attorney's Office suggested Tuesday [07/02/2024] that might be grounds to delay Trump's sentencing, currently scheduled for July 11. [2024]
..... "Although we believe defendant's arguments to be without merit, we do not oppose his request for leave to file and his putative request to adjourn sentencing pending determination of his motion," prosecutors said in a Tuesday [07/02/2024] letter to Merchan.
..... The New York hush money case centered on a series of 2017 payments Trump, by then in the White House, made to his then-lawyer Micheal Cohen. Prosecutors said the money was used to reimburse Cohen for a $130,000 payment he made to Daniels to buy her silence before election day over an alleged tryst with Trump.
..... The Supreme Court ruled Monday [07/01/2024] that courts should presume official presidential acts are immune from prosecution, although prosecutors can rebut that presumption by showing the prosecution doesn't risk intruding on the authority and functions of the executive branch. The high court also ruled that presidents are absolutely immune from prosecution for actions undertaken in a president;s sole constitutional authority.
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Under the ruling, prosecutors can't introduce evidence about official conduct even when an indictment is targeting unofficial conduct, Trump lawyers noted in their letter to Merchan.
..... In early April, [2024] Merchan rejected Trump's plea to delay the trial based on presidential immunity, ruling Trump borough the argument too late.
.... Merchan said Trump raised the issue March 7, [2024] well after a 45-day period provided under New York law for filing pretrial motions, even though Trump knew that the presidential immunity defense was behavioral to him.
..... Merchan also noted Trump submitted court filings on the immunity issue in his federal election interference case in the fall and discussed the issue when he tired to get his New York criminal case moved to federal court in May 2023.
..... In their Monday [07/01/2024] letter, Trump's lawyers said Merchan later advised both legal teams that the would rule on presidential immunity objections to evidence as they arose and ultimately noted at least one such objection.