Donald Trump wants to push back his trial for paying money to keep something secret. The Supreme Court made a decision about the president’s claim that he is immune from being charged in another criminal case.
The ex-president’s lawyers asked a judge in Manhattan to delay the New York criminal trial until his claim of immunity in his election interference case in Washington, D.C, is resolved
Merchan did not make a decision right away on Monday, the judge scolded Trump’s lawyers for not filing a document on time and for waiting too long to bring up the issue of immunity. The judge also said that from now on, both Trump’s lawyers and the prosecutors need to ask for permission before making any other legal requests before the trial.
Trump says he cannot be prosecuted for things he did while being president. His lawyers say that some of the evidence and alleged actions in the hush money case happened while he was in the White House and were part of his official duties.
The highest court will listen to arguments on April 25. This is a month after jury selection was supposed to start in Trump’s hush money case. He has four criminal cases and the first one is going to trial. He is trying to become the Republican presidential nominee and win the White House again.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office did not want to say anything. Lawyers need to give their answer to Trump’s request for a delay in court this week.
Trump first brought up the immunity issue in his criminal case in Washington, D.C. It’s about claims that he tried to change the 2020 election results before his followers rioted at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The hush money case is about claims that Trump lied about his company’s records to hide payments to his lawyer Michael Cohen, who helped Trump keep bad stories secret during his 2016 presidential campaign. Cohen gave Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about her saying she had sex with Trump while he was married.
Trump’s lawyers say that the evidence prosecutors want to use in the hush money trial, like the messages he posted on social media in 2018 about paying Cohen, were from when he was president and were part of his official duties.
Last year, Trump said he did not do the 34 crimes of lying about his business records. He said he didn’t have sex with Daniels, and his lawyers say the money given to Cohen was for legal costs, not to hide anything.
Last year, a judge said no to Trump’s request to move a case from state court to federal court. Trump had said the case was about his job as president, but the judge disagreed. If the case had been transferred to federal court, Trump’s lawyers could have tried to get the charges dismissed because federal officials are protected from prosecution for things they do as part of their job.
The proof strongly shows that the President was just trying to hide something embarrassing that was personal to him, according to US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in July. “Money paid to keep a movie star quiet is not connected to the President’s official actions. ” It does not show the President’s official duties at all.
Trump’s lawyers asked for a change in Hellerstein’s decision, but then they decided to stop asking for it in November. They said they were doing it with prejudice, which means they couldn’t change their minds.
It’s not clear if a past president can be charged for things they did while in office.
The prosecutors in the Washington, DC case said Trump doesn’t have immunity and the things he’s accused of doing after losing the election aren’t considered official actions.
The judge in Washington and a higher court didn’t agree with Trump, but now the high court is going to look at it again, which means the case in Washington will be delayed and we’re not sure when it will go to trial.