Former President Donald Trump asked a judge in New York to dismiss his hush money indictment on the grounds that prosecutors used evidence at trial that went against the Supreme Court‘s recent ruling on presidential immunity.
Trump’s attorneys wrote in a 55-page brief, made public on Thursday, that a jury’s verdict that Trump was guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records should also be tossed out, urging Judge Juan Merchan to correct “injustices” in light of the high court’s landmark decision.
The attorneys also scolded Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the elected Democrat who is leading the prosecution, for shutting down Trump’s initial arguments about presidential immunity violations in the case, which Trump’s team raised in March.
“Rather than wait for the Supreme Court’s guidance, the prosecutors scoffed with hubris at President Trump’s immunity motions and insisted on rushing to trial despite the fact that ‘no court has ever been faced with the question of a President’s immunity from prosecution,'” the attorneys wrote.
Bragg’s office “urged this Court to front-run the Supreme Court on a federal constitutional issue with grave implications for the operation of the federal government and the relationships between state and federal officials. The record is clear: DANY was wrong, very wrong,” the attorneys continued.
The Supreme Court ruled that presidents enjoy absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for certain types of activity that they perform in their official capacity. The high court also ruled that a president’s immunized acts cannot be used as evidence against him in a prosecution.
Trump’s attorneys argued that several items of evidence the Manhattan prosecutors introduced at trial did not align with the Supreme Court’s decision, including testimony from Trump White House aides Hope Hicks and Madeleine Westerhout about their interactions with Trump while he was president. Trump’s attorneys also said Michael Cohen testifying about Trump’s pardon power was inappropriate. Trump’s posts on X while he was president were considered public statements, which are protected by immunity, the attorneys said.
“The harms caused by DANY’s course of action are irreparable. The appropriate remedy is dismissal,” the attorneys wrote.
The request comes on the same day Trump was initially set to face sentencing, but Merchan delayed the hearing after Trump began the process of fighting his charges on immunity grounds.
Bragg’s team has until July 24 to submit its responses, and Merchan has said he will issue a decision on whether to drop Trump’s charges on Sept. 6.
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The judge has said he will sentence Trump on Sept. 18 if it is “still necessary.”
