In a desperate attempt to overturn his New York state criminal conviction, Donald Trump is using the Supreme Court decision that grants immunity to presidents from federal prosecution for official actions.
Trump was convicted on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial.
This move was communicated in a letter to the presiding judge, filed on Monday, though the letter itself has not yet been made public.
The Supreme Court’s latest decision has complicated the former president’s legal battles.
A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to comment about Trump’s efforts to overturn the conviction, a story first reported by The New York Times, but prosecutors informed the judge in the case that they had no objection to a delay in sentencing.
That means if Trump is sent to jail for his crimes, he will not be forced to miss the Republican presidential nominating convention, where the rapist and thief is expected to by given his third GOP nod for the presidency.
Trump’s New York case is unique among the four criminal cases against him as it is the only one to have gone to trial.
On May 30, a jury unanimously found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. These falsifications were intended to cover up reimbursements for a “hush money” payment to an adult film star, a crime Trump committed while he was in the White House in 2017.
The Supreme Court’s recent decision extended broad immunity from criminal prosecutions to former presidents for their official conduct.
The question of whether Trump’s actions were official has been previously adjudicated in his New York case. In 2023, Trump sought to move the case from state to federal jurisdiction, arguing that the allegations involved ‘official acts’ within the scope of his presidential duties.
This argument was rejected by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who determined that Trump’s misconduct was not related to any presidential duties but was instead a personal matter.
“The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the matter was purely a personal item of the president — a cover-up of an embarrassing event,” wrote Judge Hellerstein. “Hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a president’s official acts. It does not reflect in any way the color of the president’s official duties.”
Trump initially appealed Judge Hellerstein’s decision but later dropped the appeal. The case proceeded to trial in April, and following the jury’s guilty verdict, Trump announced his intention to appeal the conviction.
Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11. Prosecutors were expected to file a sentencing recommendation on Monday, but that document has not yet been made public.