Donald Trump faces significant challenges in overturning his conviction on criminal charges related to hush money paid to a porn star, despite a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that grants broad presidential immunity from prosecution, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing opinions from legal experts.
Trump's attorneys recently asked Justice Juan Merchan to dismiss the jury's May 30 guilty verdict on the New York state criminal charges. They pointed out the Supreme Court's July 1 decision, which states that former presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for official acts taken under their "core constitutional powers."
The ruling also noted that a former president has "at least a presumptive immunity" for "acts within the outer perimeter of his official responsibility," presenting a significant legal challenge for prosecutors.
In response to the defense motion, Merchan postponed Trump's sentencing from July 11 to September 18. Trump was convicted in Manhattan, marking the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president. He is the Republican candidate challenging Democratic President Joe Biden in the upcoming November 5 election.
Legal experts argue that Trump will struggle to convince the judge to overturn the conviction because much of the conduct in question occurred before his 2017-2021 presidency and involved personal matters rather than official acts. The Supreme Court found no immunity for unofficial acts by a president.
"Falsifying business records to pay off a porn star would not fall even within the outer stratosphere, let alone the outer perimeter of official presidential duties," commented analysts.
The former U.S. president was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up his reimbursement to his former lawyer Michael Cohen for the $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The payment was made to keep Daniels quiet before the 2016 election about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier. Trump has denied the affair and claims the case is politically motivated.
Prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office argue that the payment was part of a broader scheme to influence the election by avoiding a sex scandal that could have swayed voters. Trump went on to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton in that election.