The defense is contending that the district attorney presented prejudicial statements related to the former president’s official acts in office during the trial.
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan postponed the sentencing of former President Donald Trump to September 18, 2024, to allow for further proceedings regarding the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity. The defense has until July 10 to file a motion, while prosecutors have until July 24 to respond. Additionally, prosecutors have been granted permission to submit a sentencing recommendation.
Former President Trump’s attorneys are seeking to dismiss the New York criminal trial, while prosecutors argue that their argument lacks merit. The defense claims that the guilty verdict violates the presidential immunity doctrine and poses risks to the Executive Branch.
The case involves charges of falsifying business records against former President Trump, with a guilty verdict returned by a jury in May. The defense had previously attempted to limit the evidence presented in the case to exclude the president’s official acts, but this motion was denied by Justice Merchan as untimely. The defense argues that the judge’s ruling was incorrect and that objections based on presidential immunity could have been raised during the trial.
Despite objections, the defense now asserts that prejudicial statements and evidence were introduced by the district attorney during the trial. Prosecutors referenced events in the Oval Office and presented statements and testimony related to the president’s actions while in office, which the defense argues should not have been presented to the jury.
The Supreme Court has ruled that a president is immune from prosecution for his official acts and that prosecutors must overcome this immunity before charging him for such acts.
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