Lawyers for the former president sought to file a motion to set aside the verdict in a letter to Judge Juan Merchan. The letter, which was sent hours after the federal high court issued the decision, sought to suspend the verdict while the acting justice of the New York State Supreme Court is considering whether the federal high court's decision affects the conviction.
The U.S. Supreme Court's July 1 decision states that prosecutors may not charge a president for official acts. It also states that prosecutors cannot cite evidence involving official acts that affect other accusations. However, the immunity ruling does not apply to actions done in an unofficial capacity.
ZeroHedge pointed out that Trump's attempt to overturn his felony conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records "might be a long shot" – given the fact that the case pushed by Manhattan District Attorney (DA) Alvin Bragg revolves around acts Trump took while he was a candidate, not as president. But the New York Times (NYT) argued that Trump's lawyers are likely to argue that "prosecutors partially built their case using evidence from his time in office."
The independent outlet also pointed out that Merchan may also decline the request by Trump's lawyers as the deadline for filing post-trial motions ended last month. Instead, the judge may instruct the former president's legal team to raise the issue when they appeal the conviction post-sentencing.
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According to the NYT, Merchan faces an "unprecedented conundrum" with massive legal and political ramifications. It added: "Imprisoning Trump would drop-kick a hornet's nest, while sparing [the former president] from prison would immediately draw the wrath of vengeful Democrats who say [the magistrate] gave Trump special treatment."
Merchan delays Trump sentencing to September
The NYT continued: "While there's no requirement that Trump be sentenced to time behind bars, Merchan could sentence him to months or several years in prison – or he could be sentenced to home confinement or probation. [The judge] could also postpone any sentence until after the election, or after Trump serves another term in office, should be he reelected." (Related: Prison officials readying potential DETENTION FACILITIES for Trump following hush money trial conviction.)
True enough, Merchan agreed to delay Trump's sentencing by two months. From the original July 11 date, the sentencing was moved to Sept. 18 "if such is still necessary" given the high court ruling.
Bragg's office also acknowledged the U.S. Supreme Court decision and agreed to a delay in Trump's sentencing. "Although we believe (the) defendant's arguments to be without merit, we do not oppose his request," the letter penned by four Manhattan assistant DAs stated.
Meanwhile, Trump's other criminal cases have been largely derailed or otherwise postponed. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon pushed back his trial concerning mishandling classified documents, while the Georgia Court of Appeals ordered Trump's election interference case in the Peach State to be put on hold until after the November elections.
Special Counsel Jack Smith was behind the classified documents case, while Fulton County DA Fani Willis was in charge of the election interference case. Trump challenged the prosecutors in both cases – arguing that Smith did not have the authority to bring the case and pointing to Willis' conflicts of interest and breaches of ethics.
Head over to Trump.news for more stories about the former president's legal battles.
Watch attorney Julian Epstein predicting that Trump's Manhattan conviction will be overturned on appeal in the clip below.
This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.
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Judge Merchan eases GAG ORDER on Trump, allowing him to comment on jurors and witnesses.
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