US president-elect Donald Trump has failed in his attempt to overturn his criminal conviction related to hush money payments made to an adult film actor, following the US Supreme Court’s ruling in July that acknowledged a president’s official acts are immune from prosecution.
Justice Juan Merchan’s rejection of Mr. Trump’s motion to dismiss the New York state case eliminates a potential path for him to enter the White House on January 20 for his second term without a criminal record.
Mr. Trump’s legal team is also working to overturn the verdict on different grounds after his victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 election.
Justice Merchan has yet to make a decision on that motion.
The prosecutors contended that their case focused on Mr. Trump’s personal behavior, rather than his actions as president.
The judge remarked that prosecuting Mr. Trump for “decidedly personal acts of falsifying business records does not threaten the authority and function of the executive branch.”
In a statement, Mr. Trump’s spokesperson, Steven Cheung, described Justice Merchan’s ruling as “a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s decision regarding immunity”.
The case originated from a $130,000 payment made by Mr. Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
This payment was intended to ensure her silence prior to the 2016 election regarding a sexual encounter she claims to have had with Mr. Trump a decade earlier, a claim Mr. Trump denies.
Stormy Daniels stated she was compensated to remain silent about her encounter with Donald Trump.
A Manhattan jury in May found Mr. Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal the payment.
This marked the first occasion that a US president—whether former or current—was convicted of or charged with a criminal offense.
Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty, labeling the case an effort by Mr. Bragg, a Democrat, to undermine his 2024 campaign.
‘Wholly unofficial conduct’
The hush money case was the only one of four criminal charges against Mr. Trump in 2023 to reach trial.
Federal cases concerning his attempts to alter the outcome of the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents post-office have been dismissed, in accordance with US Department of Justice policy stating that presidents are not subject to federal prosecution.
Another criminal case involving Mr. Trump related to the 2020 election in Georgia state court remains unresolved.
He has pleaded not guilty in all cases.
The Supreme Court, in a ruling linked to one of the two federal cases against Mr. Trump, asserted that presidents are immune from prosecution for actions related to their official duties, and that juries cannot consider evidence of official acts in trials concerning personal conduct.
This was the first instance where the court recognized any form of presidential immunity from prosecution.
Mr. Trump’s attorneys argued that the New York jury that found him guilty was presented evidence of his social media posts as president and heard testimonies from former aides about discussions held in the White House during his term from 2017 to 2021.
Prosecutors from Mr. Bragg’s office countered that the Supreme Court’s ruling does not apply to this case, which they described as involving “wholly unofficial conduct”.
The Supreme Court, in its ruling, found no immunity for a president’s unofficial actions.
The Republican was originally set to be sentenced on November 26, but Justice Merchan postponed that date indefinitely following his election victory.
