Former President Donald Trump has submitted a reply brief regarding his appeal to overturn his conviction in N.Y. v Trump, following a Supreme Court ruling that presidents possess a degree of immunity concerning their official actions taken while in office.
Trump was found guilty last month during a groundbreaking criminal trial on all charges of first-degree falsification of business records, which followed a six-week investigation by Bragg. He has already petitioned Judge Juan Merchan to overturn the jury’s verdict.
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Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower on Thursday, May 30, 2024, after being convicted on 34 counts of first-degree falsification of business records. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)
In the brief filed on Thursday, Trump’s legal team argued, “The Supreme Court of the United States has definitively ruled that President Trump is entitled to immunity for his official acts.”
“In this case, a politically motivated district attorney overstepped that immunity by presenting evidence of official acts during grand jury proceedings and at trial. Consequently, the case should be dismissed, and the jury’s verdicts ought to be vacated.”
The Supreme Court decided in Trump v. United States that former presidents are substantially immune from prosecution for actions deemed official, but not for those regarded as unofficial. The Court clarified that Trump is shielded from criminal charges for “official acts,” with the lower courts tasked to establish the parameters distinguishing official from unofficial conduct.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 21: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“The President is thus exempt from prosecution for exercising his fundamental constitutional powers and is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumption of immunity regarding all official acts he performs,” stated the majority opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts. “This immunity applies equally to all individuals who hold the office of the President, regardless of their political affiliation, policy decisions, or party connections.”
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The issue of presidential immunity arose from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the events of January 6 against Trump. Trump has pleaded not guilty to these charges. The trial has been paused in a lower court while awaiting the Supreme Court’s judgment, which dismissed any charges linked to actions taken during Trump’s presidency.
Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche argued in the recent filing that Bragg presented evidence of official acts throughout the unprecedented six-week trial. Blanche claimed this included communications from the White House involving staff members such as Hope Hicks and Madeleine Westerhout.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media with his attorney Todd Blanche after concluding his hush money trial in New York on Thursday, May 30, 2024. (Michael M. Santiago/Pool Photo via AP)
Blanche also stated that Trump’s public statements made on Twitter were used as evidence, alongside his official responses to inquiries from the Federal Election Commission and official actions concerning inquiries from Congress and prosecutors, among other things.
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“President Trump faced fundamentally unjust proceedings that led jurors to assess evidence of official acts through the lens of ‘their opinions on the President’s policies and performance while in office,'” Blanche asserted. “This essential unfairness negatively affects the public due to its ramifications on the ability of future Presidents to serve the American populace effectively.”
He concluded: “For the reasons detailed in the Defense Motion and herein, the Court ought to dismiss the Indictment and overturn the jury’s verdicts based on infringements of the Presidential immunity doctrine and the Supremacy Clause.”
Last month, Judge Juan Merchan agreed to Trump’s request to postpone his initial sentencing date, originally set for July 11, stating that a hearing regarding Trump’s potential sentencing will occur on September 18.
