New York judge Juan Merchant denied Donald Trump's lawyers' motion to overturn a jury's decision to find the Republican guilty of bribing a porn star in 2016. This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that the defense asked the court to dismiss the case because it “could have prevented the president from exercising his powers as head of the executive branch.” Trump's lawyers also tried to prove that, according to the Supreme Court's decision, he has presidential immunity from such criminal prosecutions.
However, the judge rejected both arguments, stating that the crime concerned Trump's personal, not official, actions, so he was not immune. And the verdict allegedly “will not affect the work of the executive branch.”
Recall
In May, Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the payment of money to porn star Stormy Daniels to cover up the scandal. The verdict was originally scheduled to be announced in the summer, but Trump twice had it postponed. After winning the election, experts suggested that the sentencing would likely be postponed until the end of his presidential term.
In November, Judge Juan Merchant postponed the sentencing of Donald Trump indefinitely. Trump's lawyers were given until December 2 to justify the request to dismiss the case.