The ex-president's lawyers cite a new Supreme Court ruling that granted him partial immunity from prosecution.

Donald Trump’s lawyers have asked for the former president’s conviction in his hush-money criminal case to be overturned and his sentencing this month delayed, US media report.

A letter sent by Trump’s lawyers to the New York judge presiding over the trial reportedly cites Monday’s Supreme Court ruling that granted the former president immunity from prosecution for official actions he took while in office.

In May, Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records. He will be sentenced on 11 July.

His team points out that he signed off the records while president in 2017, but one lawyer suggested this was unlikely to be considered an official act.

  • HelixDab2@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    5 months ago

    He wasn’t the president when the crime was committed, ipso facto he didn’t have presidential immunity.

    • Nougat@fedia.io
      0·
      5 months ago

      Doesn’t matter, that’s not the point. Delay and chaos are the point.

      • _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        0·
        5 months ago

        I think ex post facto would be passing a law that punishes people who broke the law before it existed.

        Iso facto means “by that very fact”

        • machinaeZER0@lemm.eeEnglish
          0·
          5 months ago

          That’s probably right - I interpreted it as “one can’t take advantage of a new ruling if the event already happened,” but I may be out of my depth here!

    • Sc00ter@lemm.eeEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      The crime wasn’t the payment, it was the falsifying business records. And based solely on the information in this thread, the final signature for those false records did happen while he was in office in 2017.

      Just because it happened when he was in office does not make it an official act, but thats their argument