Trump’s push to move hush money case to federal court fails - again
Trump to be sentenced on September 18 in New York after failing in latest attempt to delay
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A federal judge has once again rejected Donald Trump’s attempts to move his hush money case out of a Manhattan courtroom, a last-ditch effort to overturn his conviction and avoid sentencing after a jury found him guilty on 34 felony counts this spring.
Trump will be sentenced by New York Justice Juan Merchan on September 18.
The former president’s lawyers had argued in court filings that the case and evidence against him should be tossed out under the Supreme Court’s “immunity” ruling, which determined that presidents are absolutely immune from criminal prosecution for their “official” acts in office.
For the second time, District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected those claims. He wrote on Tuesday that “nothing in the Supreme Court’s opinion” changes his opinion that hush money payments through Trump’s then-attorney Michael Cohen to an adult film star were “private, unofficial acts, outside the bounds of executive authority.”
Trump’s attorneys had previously tried, and failed, to remove the case from New York courts before a trial was underway.
On May 30, a Manhattan jury found the former president guilty on all counts of falsifying business records in connection with a scheme to unlawfully influence the 2016 presidential election by concealing hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, whose story about having sex with Trump threatened to derail his campaign.
Judge Merchan is also preparing to rule on Trump’s motion in his court on whether the case should be tossed under the “immunity” decision.
Shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision, Trump’s lawyers argued that “impermissible” evidence in the hush money trial includes Trump’s conversations with White House aides who testified at the trial, phone records from his time in office, and posts on Twitter, which they claim was “recognized as a formal channel of White House communication in the Trump Administration.”
Judge Merchan is expected to issue a decision on those arguments on September 16.
Trump’s sentencing is scheduled two days later, though Trump has also pushed Judge Merchan to delay that court date until after November’s presidential election.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments