Manhattan prosecutors have made their argument to the judge who presided over Donald Trump's criminal hush-money trial that he should uphold the conviction despite the Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. The filing by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office, an answer to Trump's appeal citing the court's decision, was made public Thursday, the New York Times reports. That case has "no bearing on this prosecution," prosecutors wrote. Trump was found guilty in May on 34 felony counts for illegally trying to conceal the reasons for a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.
The Supreme Court decision involves a president's official acts; the charges in the Manhattan case did not. Trump's lawyers say jurors were wrongly exposed to witness testimony and records generated in Trump's first year in office that were extensions of his official duties, per the Washington Post. "Even if that decision required the exclusion of all of the evidence that defendant cites here, there would still need be no basis for disturbing the verdict because of the other overwhelming evidence of defendant's guilt," Bragg's team wrote.
Todd Blanche, a defense lawyer, wrote Judge Juan Merchan a letter on Thursday that attacked "the jury's flawed and unjust" verdict. He declined to comment on the new prosecution filing Thursday, though he said in the letter that it contains "legal and factual misrepresentations." Trump's team asked Merchan to delay sentencing in allow time to consider throwing out the conviction within hours of the Supreme Court's announcement. (More Trump hush-money trial stories.)
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