BY JENNIFER PELTZ Related Press
NEW YORK (AP) — The decide in Donald Trump’s hush cash trial is pushing again a date for a key ruling on presidential immunity till two days earlier than Trump’s scheduled sentencing.
The immunity determination had been due Sept. 6, with the sentencing set for Sept. 18. However then Trump’s legal professionals requested Choose Juan M. Merchan final week to rule first on their renewed bid to get the judge to step aside from the case.
In a letter made public Tuesday, Choose Juan M. Merchan postponed the immunity ruling to Sept. 16 — if it’s nonetheless wanted after he decides subsequent week whether or not to recuse himself.
Merchan stated the Republican presidential nominee continues to be due in courtroom Sept. 18 for “the imposition of sentence or different proceedings as acceptable.”
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche and the Manhattan district legal professional’s workplace, which is prosecuting the case, declined to remark.
A jury found Trump guilty in Might of falsifying enterprise information to hide a deal to repay porn actor Stormy Daniels shortly earlier than the 2016 election. On the time, she was contemplating going public with a narrative of a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier.
Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels and was later reimbursed by Trump, whose firm logged the compensation as authorized bills. Prosecutors stated that was an effort to disguise the true nature of the transactions and the underlying hush cash deal.
Trump denies Daniels’ declare, maintains he did nothing incorrect and says the case is politically motivated. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is a Democrat.
Trump’s legal professionals say the Supreme Courtroom’s July ruling on presidential immunity warrants overturning the Might responsible verdict and fully dismissing the hush cash case towards Trump. The protection additionally c ontends that the trial was “tainted” by proof that ought to not have been allowed underneath the excessive courtroom’s ruling, similar to testimony from some Trump White Home staffers and tweets he despatched whereas president in 2018.
The excessive courtroom’s ruling curbs prosecutions of ex-presidents for official acts and restricts prosecutors in pointing to official acts as proof {that a} commander in chief’s unofficial actions have been unlawful.
The Manhattan district legal professional’s workplace maintains that the high court’s opinion “has no bearing” on the hush cash case as a result of it entails unofficial acts for which the previous president isn’t immune.
In the meantime, Trump’s legal professionals requested Merchan final week, for a 3rd time, to exit the case, saying his daughter’s work for Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential marketing campaign underscores questions on his capability to be neutral. Harris is now the Democratic nominee for president.
Merchan rejected two prior recusal requests final 12 months, saying the protection’s issues have been “hypothetical” and primarily based on “innuendos” and “unsupported hypothesis.”
However Trump lawyer Todd Blanche argued that Harris’ entry into the presidential race makes these points “much more concrete” and stated the decide hadn’t addressed them in sufficient element.
The hush cash case is considered one of 4 legal prosecutions introduced towards Trump final 12 months.
One federal case, accusing Trump of illegally hoarding labeled paperwork at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida, was dismissed final month. The Justice Division is interesting.
The others — federal and Georgia state circumstances regarding Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss — aren’t positioned to go to trial earlier than the November election.
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