Write by Aysha Bagchi On Wednesday, a judge in New York denied the petition of the former president Donald Trump to postpone his criminal prosecution pending the Supreme Court’s decision on his all-encompassing presidential immunity claim.
In a March court filing, Trump brought up the point and asked Judge Juan Merchan to postpone the trial until the Supreme Court made a decision on the application of presidential immunity in a different Trump case involving allegations of federal election meddling.
Merchan countered that Trump brought up the issue too late. The trial is set to start on April 15. On April 4, 2023, more than a year prior, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accused Trump of fabricating company documents.
In the verdict on Wednesday, Merchan stated, “This Court finds that Defendant had numerous opportunities to raise the claim of presidential immunity well before March 7, 2024.
That means Trump on track to face his first criminal trial this month, even as he has so far been able to postpone or upend trial dates in other criminal cases.
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Trump lawyer Todd Blanche and Bragg’s office declined to comment.
In the federal election interference case, the Supreme Court agreed to consider to what extent former presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for acts during their presidency.
What the case about?
The main question at stake in the New York lawsuit whether Trump committed a crime by forging company papers to conceal a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels from former attorney, Michael Cohen, prior to the 2016 presidential election. Daniels consented to keep silent in return for the money. Prosecutors claim that Trump worried that Daniels might damage campaign by disclosing information about an alleged sexual encounter with her, thus the timing not coincidental. Trump disputes her assertions. Prosecutors claim that after that, Trump paid Cohen back with monthly checks that seemed payments for legal services rendered in 2017 and were supported by fictitious company papers at the Trump Organization.
In New York, if the disguise used to perpetrate or cover up another crime, the offence of falsification elevated to a felony. That applies to Trump, according to the prosecution, because he broke federal election regulations pertaining to the cap on campaign contributions. They have mentioned that Cohen sentenced to prison following guilty plea to making an unauthorised contribution to a political party through the payment. Additionally, they claim that Trump attempted to break tax and election rules in New York.
Why delay until after Supreme Court ruling?
Trump argued that the Supreme Court’s review of the scope of presidential immunity in federal election interference case would reduce the risk of having to re-try the case because the New York court didn’t apply the immunity doctrine properly. The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for April 25, and has discretion over when to issue a decision after that.
But Judge Juan Merchan said Wednesday that Trump chose not to raise the presidential immunity defense until well past 45-day period allotted under New York law for filing pre-trial motions after being arraigned, a process in which defendant first appears in court and enters a plea. Trump was arraigned the same day he charged: April 4, 2023.
Trump showed he aware long ago that the presidential immunity defense available to him, Judge Juan Merchan said. The judge noted Trump had fully briefed the issue in separate federal election interference case by Oct. 5, and he also discussed presidential immunity issues almost year ago, when he tried to get the hush money case moved from state court to federal court on May 4.
“Further, and an aside, the fact that the Defendant waited until mere 17 days prior to the scheduled trial date of March 25, 2024, to file the motion, raises real questions about the sincerity and actual purpose of the motion,” Merchan wrote. At the time Trump filed the motion, trial scheduled for March 25, although it has moved to April 15.
“The circumstances, viewed whole, test Court’s credulity,” Merchan wrote.
Excluding evidence based on presidential immunity?
Trump separately called for excluding portions of evidence in the New York case based on the presidential immunity doctrine, such as social media posts about the payments to Cohen and Cohen’s willingness to help prosecutors. He said in a court filing that Twitter account a main White House vehicle for conducting official business, rendering the posts protected official acts.
But Merchan said, given the timeliness issue, he wouldn’t consider the merits of that argument.
In a footnote, Merchan added that Trump didn’t appear arguing that the underlying alleged facts that support the charges in the hush money case such as Cohen’s payment to Daniels or record-keeping at the Trump Organization raise a presidential immunity claim.
“Defendant’s motion DENIED in its entirety as untimely,” Merchan said.
Conclusion
