No immunity for unofficial acts: New York judge rejects Trump's bid to dismiss conviction in 'hush money' case

A New York judge ruled against Donald Trump’s bid to get his hush money conviction thrown out, denying his argument that a recent Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity applied to his case.

The judge on Dec 16 said that Trump’s conviction for falsifying records for a sex scandal cover-up should stand.

Earlier this month, President-elect Trump had sought dismissal of the case arguing that President Joe Biden used similar reasoning to pardon his son, Hunter Biden.

Trump's lawyers urged Justice Juan Merchan in Manhattan to overturn the guilty verdict and dismiss the charges, arguing that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case could hinder Trump's ability to govern if it remains unresolved after he takes office on Jan 20 next year.

The 78-year-old Trump was initially scheduled to be sentenced on Nov 26 but Justice Juan Merchan pushed it back indefinitely after he won the Nov 5 US Presidential election.

In a 41-page decision, Justice Merchan said Trump's “decidedly personal acts of falsifying business records poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the executive branch.”

There was no immediate response from Trump’s lawyers. The hush money case stemmed from a $130,000 payment that Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels to allegedly silence her before the 2016 elections.
However, Trump has denied having any sexual encounter with Daniels.

Trump was found guilty of found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up the payment in May this year. The conviction makes Trump the first ever US president - former or sitting to have been convicted or charged with a criminal offense.

Prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office argued that there are alternatives to the drastic step of overturning the jury's verdict, which could address Trump's concerns about distractions from his criminal case while serving as president.