NY judge upholds Trump hush money conviction despite Supreme Court's immunity ruling
A New York judge Monday upheld President-elect Donald Trump’s felony conviction for falsifying records to cover up a “hush money” sex scandal, rejecting his claim that a sweeping recent Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity had nullified his Manhattan criminal case.
For now, the ruling by Judge Juan Merchan keeps in place Trump’s criminal conviction, though the former and future president, through a spokesman, immediately vowed to fight it.
If Merchan’s ruling is upheld, Trump will make history on January 20, 2025, as the first criminal felon to occupy the White House and serve as president. The judge’s decision shoots down only one of several efforts by Trump to wipe clean his record of the criminal felonies before he returns to the White House on Jan. 20.
Separately, Trump has asked Judge Juan Merchan to dismiss the entire New York criminal case as a result of his November election victory. Merchan didn’t rule on that argument Monday.
In his ruling, Merchan sided with prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office who said that while the U.S. Supreme Court granted presidents wide latitude in having immunity for presidential actions, the activities for which Trump was convicted were unofficial – not official – conduct.
Merchan wrote in his 41-page ruling that the actions Trump took for which he was convicted were “decidedly personal acts” including falsifying business records that posed “no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the Executive Branch,” including Trump’s actions as president.
Those “unofficial” actions included steps Trump took to falsify records related to payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who was threatening to go public with claims of having had affairs with Trump just before the 2016 election, Merchan concluded.
Merchan wrote in his 41-page ruling that the actions Trump took for which he was convicted were “decidedly personal acts” including falsifying business records that posed “no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the Executive Branch,” including Trump’s actions as president.
Those “unofficial” actions included steps Trump took to falsify records related to payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who was threatening to go public with claims of having had affairs with Trump just before the 2016 election, Merchan concluded.
