Former President Trump made his formal push to toss his criminal conviction in the wake of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision, contending he’s being treated “unfairly and unlawfully.”
The 52-page brief, made public on Thursday, insists the Manhattan district attorney’s office (DANY) improperly brought in evidence protected by presidential immunity.
Trump’s lawyers are asking New York Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw the recent trial, to not only throw out the guilty verdict but also dismiss last year’s indictment.
“The record is clear: DANY was wrong, very wrong,” wrote Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove. “Be that as it may, Your Honor now has the authority to address these injustices, and the Court is duty-bound to do so in light of the Supreme Court’s decision.”
In late May, a New York jury convicted Trump on all 34 counts of falsifying business records with an intent to unlawfully influence the 2016 election by disguising reimbursements to his then-fixer, Michael Cohen, as a legal retainer. Just before Trump won the presidency, Cohen had paid $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels to stay quiet about an alleged affair with Trump. Trump denies any affair.
The Supreme Court’s decision last week carving out at least presumptive criminal immunity for presidents’ official acts has given Trump a new pathway to attempt to toss his verdict.
Unlike his three other criminal cases, Trump had not argued he was immune from the hush money charges themselves. But the Supreme Court’s ruling blocks prosecutors from bringing in protected acts as evidence, even if the charges concern unofficial conduct.
Trump contends prosecutors improperly cited official acts as evidence at both his blockbuster trial this spring and last year’s grand jury proceedings that led to the first indictment of a former president in U.S. history.
The evidence in question includes one of Trump’s government ethics forms, some of his social media posts issued while in office and testimony from two of his White House aides.
The former president’s lawyers contend much of it implicated “core” executive functions, which the Supreme Court made clear are absolutely protected.
“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,” Trump’s attorneys wrote.
The brief was filed Wednesday and made public Thursday, the same day as Trump’s originally scheduled sentencing. His judge delayed the sentencing until Sept. 18 so he could first weigh the immunity argument.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s (D) office, which did not oppose the delay, previously signaled it believes the conviction should stand. They are due to respond in court filings later this month.
