Hush money trial: Decision on Trump immunity expected

Hush money trial: Decision on Trump immunity expected

Hush money trial
Decision on Trump immunity expected






Even if Donald Trump is about to return to the White House, he could still face punishment in the hush money trial. An important decision on this is to be announced on Tuesday.

After Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, a court in New York wants to decide on Tuesday about the Republican’s possible immunity in his hush money trial. Jurors in New York found Trump guilty on 34 counts at the end of May.

The trial concerned the illegal concealment of hush money payments to a porn actress in order to gain advantages in the 2016 presidential election campaign. It was the first time in United States history that a former president was convicted of a crime.

Judge Juan Mercan must now decide whether a Supreme Court decision can be applied to the case. This means that presidents enjoy extensive immunity for their official acts. If Merchan were to grant a request from Trump’s defense, the guilty verdict against him in May would probably have been overturned.

However, if the judge rejects the application, the question would remain as to whether the sentence announcement currently planned for the end of November will stand. In the worst case scenario, Trump could theoretically face several years in prison. Observers believe this punishment is very unlikely after his re-election. A sentence could, for example, also be interpreted as probation.

Convicted felon as US President

At the beginning of November, Trump was re-elected as US President as a convicted felon – his victory against Democrat Kamala Harris was also a first in the country’s history. The sentence was originally supposed to have been announced in mid-September. But then Judge Merchan granted Trump’s request that the punishment not be announced until after the presidential election.

Even during the trial, Trump’s defense tried by all means to hinder and stop the proceedings altogether. Trump’s lawyers then came in handy with the landmark ruling of the Supreme Court, which was mostly right-wing conservative.

Although the New York hush money case primarily revolves around Trump’s actions as a presidential candidate before the 2016 election, it does not fall into his term as president from 2017. But the Supreme Court ruling also states that official actions by presidents cannot be used as evidence in criminal proceedings can be. Trump’s lawyers argue that the prosecution in the case also relied on evidence from Trump’s time in the White House.

dpa

Source: Stern

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