New York Judge Juan Merchan faces two crucial court decisions concerning President-elect Donald Trump. One pressing matter is determining whether the conviction of falsifying business records against Trump should be overturned in light of the Supreme Court’s July ruling on presidential immunity.
Merchan has said he will make his decision by Nov. 12.
Another decision is whether to proceed with sentencing Trump on Nov. 26 as currently scheduled now Trump will be sworn into office on Jan. 20.
In May 2024, a New York jury convicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Falsifying business records is a misdemeanor under New York State law, however, charges can be elevated to a felony if the fraud is used to cover up or commit another crime.
The charges against Trump were elevated to felonies by alleging that the underlying crime was a scheme to influence the 2016 election by burying unfavorable news coverage of an alleged affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for $130,000 in “hush money” payments facilitated through his lawyer, Michael Cohen.
Trump’s lawyers have argued that the case must be dismissed following the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling.
The Supreme Court, in a decision arising from one of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s two cases against Trump, decided that presidents are immune from prosecution involving their official acts, and that juries cannot be presented evidence of official acts in trials over personal conduct. It marked the first time that the court recognized any degree of presidential immunity from prosecution.
Trump’s lawyers said the jury that convicted Trump was shown evidence by prosecutors of his social media posts as president and heard testimony from his former aides about conversations that occurred in the White House during his 2017–2021 term.
Prosecutors with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg have argued that the Supreme Court’s ruling has no bearing on the case, which they said concerned “wholly unofficial conduct.” The Supreme Court in its ruling found no immunity for a president’s unofficial acts.
Even if Merchan allows the conviction to stand, experts expect Trump’s lawyers to ask the judge to delay the sentencing.
In addition to the hush money case, the judge overseeing Trump’s 2020 election interference case canceled all remaining court deadlines on Friday, allowing prosecutors to evaluate “the appropriate course going forward” in light of the Republican’s presidential victory.
Smith charged Trump last year with attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and unlawfully retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, charges the president-elect has denied.
Following Trump’s recent election victory, Smith’s team is assessing how to conclude these two federal cases before the president-elect assumes office, in accordance with the longstanding Department of Justice policy that prohibits the prosecution of sitting presidents.
Smith said that his team needs to “assess the unprecedented circumstances and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy,” according to the court filing.
Trump pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing in all cases, portraying them as political persecutions by allies of President Joe Biden, that were intended to hinder his campaign.
“It is now abundantly clear that Americans want an immediate end to the weaponization of our justice system,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement on Friday.
In a recent address from the White House Rose Garden, Biden urged Americans to “lower the temperature,” calling the need for national unity and a reduction in political tensions.
Reuters contributed to this report.