Trump Asks Judge to Vacate Hush Money Conviction

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Facts

• Lawyers for Donald Trump are asking New York Judge Juan Merchan to vacate his criminal conviction for falsifying business records related to payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, citing the Supreme Court’s recent decision on presidential immunity.¹
• In a 55-page court filing made public Thursday, Trump’s team argued that the Manhattan District Attorney’s office used evidence related to his official acts as president. They argue that such documents could not be used under the immunity ruling.²
• The SCOTUS ruling on July 1 granted broad protections that shield presidents from prosecution for “official acts,” which the court didn’t define. Trump’s team isn’t arguing that the hush money payments, made before he was president, constituted an official act of the office.³
• The former president's lawyers say testimony from then-White House Communications Director Hope Hicks and other aides shouldn’t have been permitted in the trial, along with Trump’s 2018 financial disclosures.³
• They also argue that the original indictment should be tossed out, alleging it relied on 'tainted' evidence. This would prevent the case from being retried.⁴
• The district attorney's office has until July 24 to address the filing before Merchan issues his ruling, which is due the first week of September. If he rules against Trump, the former president will be sentenced on Sept. 18.⁵

Sources: ¹The Hill, ²CNN, ³Associated Press, ⁴FOX News and ⁵Guardian.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by House Judiciary Committee Republicans. In addition to being a coordinated hit job by Democratic partisans, Trump’s hush money trial and conviction was an illegitimate farce based on illegal evidence. Anti-Trump Democrats Alvin Bragg and Juan Merchan worked in unison to rush their predetermined verdict before the Supreme Court ruled on the issue of presidential immunity. The prosecution’s flimsy argument depended on evidence related to Trump’s official acts as president, and the entire case must be vacated in the wake of SCOTUS’ decision.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by MSNBC. Trump and his team are trying to stretch SCOTUS’ immunity ruling to the absolute limit, arguing that the recent decision shields the president from any form of accountability. Trump’s lawyers are now arguing that Tweets and conversations are “official acts” of the executive in an attempt to clear Trump of the only indictment that went to trial. Trump has pulled out every trick in the book, and with the help of a right-wing Supreme Court, he may be able to completely avoid paying for his crimes.

Predictions