Donald Trump's attorneys asked the New York judge presiding over his money laundering trial on Monday to vacate his conviction and postpone his sentencing, which is scheduled for later this month.
According to a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the letter to Judge Juan M. Merchant cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier Monday and asked the judge to delay sentencing Trump while he considers the Supreme Court’s ruling and how it will affect the New York case.
According to the letter, the attorneys argued that the Supreme Court's ruling affirmed the defense's position that prosecutors should have been barred from introducing some evidence that they claimed was an official act of the president.
In previous court filings, Trump has argued that he is immune from prosecution for acts that are known to be related to official conduct while in office. His attorneys have not raised this as a defense in the hush money case, but have argued that some of the evidence, including Trump’s social media posts to former attorney Michael Cohen, is from his presidency and should be excluded from trial because of the immunity protection.
The Supreme Court ruled Monday for the first time that a former president has broad immunity from prosecution, extending a deadline for prosecutors to prosecute Washington criminal cases against President Trump for his alleged role in overturning his 2020 election defeat.
Trump was convicted in New York of falsifying business records after prosecutors alleged he tried to conceal hush money he received just before the 2016 presidential election.
Merchan instituted a policy in advance of trial requiring both sides to send a one-page letter summarizing their arguments before filing lengthy court documents. He said he did this to better manage his documents and avoid being overwhelmed by a mountain of paperwork.
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