A New York judge on Wednesday rejected former President Donald Trump's plea to delay his next criminal trial until the Supreme Court rules on broad claims of presidential immunity.
President Trump made this argument in a lawsuit filed in March, asking Judge Juan Melchán to postpone the case until the Supreme Court rules on the scope of presidential immunity in a separate Trump case on federal election interference charges. .
But Marchan said Trump was too late to bring up the argument. The trial is scheduled to begin on April 15. Trump was indicted on April 4, 2023, more than a year ago by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, on charges of falsifying business records.
“This court finds that defendants had countless opportunities to raise their claims of presidential immunity well before March 7, 2024,” Marchand wrote in Wednesday's ruling.
This means President Trump is scheduled to go to trial for the first time this month, even though he has previously postponed or moved trial dates in other criminal cases.
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President Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche and Mr. Bragg's office declined to comment.
In a federal election interference case, the Supreme Court agreed to consider the extent to which former presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for their actions while in office.
What is the case about?
A New York lawsuit alleges that President Trump is seeking criminal prosecution to cover up $130,000 in hush money that Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. The focus is on whether he falsified business records. In exchange for her cash, Daniels agreed to remain silent.
Prosecutors say the timing was no coincidence. President Trump was concerned that going public with Daniels' claims that the two had sexual contact would have a negative impact on his campaign. Trump denies her claims.
Prosecutors say Trump then repaid Cohen through monthly checks disguised as payments for legal services in 2017 and documented in false business records for the Trump Organization.
New York state law makes forgery a felony if the purpose of the forgery was to commit or conceal another crime. Prosecutors say this applies to Trump because he violated federal election laws that cap campaign contributions. They point out that Cohen served time in prison after pleading guilty to providing illegal campaign contributions through this payment. It also alleges that Trump attempted to violate New York state election and tax laws.
Why postpone until the Supreme Court decision?
President Trump argued that the Supreme Court's review of the scope of presidential immunity in federal election interference cases would reduce the risk that the case would have to be retried because New York courts failed to properly apply immunity principles. . The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for April 25, and has discretion over when to issue a decision after that.
But Marchan said Wednesday that Trump chose not to raise the presidential immunity defense until well after the 45-day period under New York state law for filing pretrial motions after arraignment. . I plead. Trump was arraigned on April 4, 2023, the same day he was indicted.
Mr. Marchand said President Trump indicated he had long known that the presidential immunity defense was available. The judge said President Trump had fully explained the issue in a separate federal election interference case by Oct. 5, and nearly a year ago when he tried to move the hush-money case from state court to federal court. He also pointed out that they also discussed the issue of presidential immunity. May 4th.
“As a further aside, the fact that defendant waited to file the motion until just 17 days before the scheduled trial date of March 25, 2024 raises real questions about the sincerity and actual purpose of the motion,” Marchan wrote. At the time President Trump filed his motion, the trial was scheduled for March 25, but was later moved to April 15.
“The totality of the circumstances tests the credibility of this court,” Marchand wrote.
Will evidence based on executive privilege be excluded?
Separately, Trump called for the exclusion of some evidence in the New York case based on presidential immunity, including payments to Cohen and social media posts about Cohen's intentions to assist prosecutors. . He said in his court filing that his Twitter account is the primary means of conducting White House official business and that his posts are protected as official acts.
But Marchan said he did not consider the merits of that argument given the timeliness issue.
Marchan wrote in a footnote that Trump argued that the underlying alleged facts supporting the hush money charges, including Cohen's payments to Daniels and record-keeping at the Trump Organization, give rise to a claim of presidential immunity. He added that it doesn't seem like he did. .
“Defendant's motion was completely dismissed as untimely,” Marchand said.
