The New York State Supreme Court has refused to overturn a jury verdict that found US President-elect Donald Trump guilty in a hush money case against a porn star.
CNN writes about this.
US presidents have immunity for their official actions, but it does not extend to their personal actions. So the court is determining which of Trumpʼs actions were official and which were not.
Judge Juan Mercan rejected an argument by Trumpʼs lawyers that the case against Trump falls under presidential immunity, which exempts him from liability. The prosecution stressed that the case concerns Trumpʼs personal conduct, not his official actions as president, and therefore he is not immune.
"Ultimately, the court decided that if there was an error in presenting the contested evidence, it was not harmful against the backdrop of irrefutable evidence of guilt," the courtʼs decision states.
The court did not set a new sentencing date for Trump. Trump will likely try to appeal the decision and overturn the juryʼs verdict, as he denies guilt.
What preceded
In May 2024, a New York jury found Donald Trump guilty of falsifying records to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about having sex with him. The payment was not illegal, but it was disguised as Trumpʼs payment to a lawyer for legal services. In New York state, this is considered falsifying records.
The judge has already delayed sentencing in the case twice. The prosecution has urged the judge not to issue a sentence until after Donald Trumpʼs presidential term ends in 2029. But analysts expect the judge to announce the verdict soon, having decided not to subject Trump to prison.
Trumpʼs affairs
Prosecutor Jack Smith investigated the attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 US presidential election that led to the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The investigation concerned, in particular, the nomination of fake voters in states where Trump lost and a pressure campaign against his then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election.
Cases have also been opened about Trumpʼs possession of classified documents, his alleged attempt to change the results of the presidential election in Georgia, and his payment of $130,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about having sex with him.
On November 25, 2024, Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a motion to dismiss federal charges against Trump in the cases of storing classified documents and storming the Capitol in 2021. Smith explained that the cases would not have time to be completed and sent to court before Trumpʼs inauguration in January 2025. And the US Constitution states that sitting presidents should not be subject to criminal prosecution.
The Capitol storming case has already been dropped.
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