US judge rejects Donald Trump’s attempt to dismiss hush money conviction: Report

A judge in New York on Monday rejected US President-elect Donald Trump’s attempt to have his hush money conviction dismissed, dismissing his claim that a recent Supreme Court ruling on the President’s immunity ruling had invalidated the verdict.

Donald Trump was convicted in May of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. The payment was intended to conceal an alleged affair, which Trump denies.

Manhattan Judge Juan M Merchan’s ruling removes a potential avenue for dismissal in the case as Donald Trump prepares to assume office next month. However, his legal team has presented additional arguments seeking to have the case dropped, news agency AP reported.

Trump’s lawyers contend that allowing the case to linger during his presidency would hinder his ability to effectively govern.

Following his May conviction, Trump’s legal team argued that the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity should apply to his case. The ruling stated that ex-presidents cannot be prosecuted for official acts conducted during their tenure and that such actions cannot be used to support cases involving personal conduct.

The President-elect’s lawyers argued that some of the evidence presented during the trial, including his presidential financial disclosure forms and testimony from White House aides, fell under this immunity protection.

Prosecutors disagreed and said the evidence in question was only “a sliver” of their case. They, while acknowledging the need for some accommodations for his presidency, also maintain that the conviction must be upheld.

Judge Merchan, however, found that the evidence in question was only a minor part of the prosecution’s case and did not significantly impact the overall verdict.

Trump was originally set to be sentenced on November 26, but Justice Juan Merchan postponed the sentencing indefinitely after Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 election.