President-elect Donald Trump’s criminal conviction in New York state court remains intact after a judge rejected his motion to dismiss the case based on a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
Justice Juan Merchan ruled Monday, December 6, 2024, that the Supreme Court’s July decision granting immunity for official presidential acts did not apply to the charges against Trump, which stemmed entirely from actions outside his official capacity.
Merchan stated that the evidence presented at Trump’s trial earlier this year pertained to “unofficial conduct,” making the Supreme Court’s ruling irrelevant to the conviction. “If error occurred regarding the introduction of the challenged evidence, such error was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt,” Merchan wrote in his decision.
The ruling follows a motion filed by Trump’s legal team arguing that his election to the presidency necessitated the dismissal of the conviction. Trump became the first individual in U.S. history to win the presidency after being convicted of crimes, and the first former president to stand trial for criminal charges.
A Manhattan jury unanimously found Trump guilty in May of 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records. The charges stem from a scheme to reimburse his former attorney, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election. The payment was intended to secure Daniels’ silence regarding an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.
Trump’s legal team argued that testimony from former White House staff should have been barred under the Supreme Court’s decision, which stated that evidence related to Trump’s official acts as president could not be used in court. However, Merchan ruled that Trump’s lawyers failed to object to the testimony during the trial and that the testimony in question constituted a minor part of the overall case.
Prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office countered Trump’s motion, asserting that state convictions are not subject to dismissal due to a defendant’s election to the presidency. Bragg’s team described the contested testimony as “a sliver of the mountains of evidence” presented at trial.
Merchan further addressed the nature of the charges, posing the question: “Is a president’s in-office conduct to conceal payments to an adult film actress to keep information from the public eye relating to an encounter that occurred prior to his presidency official or unofficial?” He concluded that the acts were unofficial and added that even if they had been considered official, their use as evidence did not undermine the presidency.
Trump, who has pleaded not guilty and denies Daniels’ claims, has vowed to appeal the conviction. His legal team is also considering an appeal of Merchan’s ruling on presidential immunity.
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, criticized the decision, stating it “violates the Supreme Court’s ruling on immunity and other longstanding jurisprudence.” He called for the case to be dismissed, asserting that it obstructs the presidential transition process.
“This lawless case should have never been brought, and the Constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed,” Cheung said. “The sooner these hoaxes end, the sooner our country can unite behind President Trump for the betterment of all Americans.”
Trump and his allies have consistently claimed that the criminal cases and lawsuits against him are part of a politically motivated “witch hunt.”
