- Former President Donald Trump is trying to capitalize on the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity.
- His lawyers have asked a Manhattan judge if they can seek to have his recent criminal conviction overturned.
- Trump’s sentencing in the bribery trial is scheduled for July 11.
It took less than a day for former President Donald Trump’s lawyers to test Monday’s Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
Trump’s lawyers sent a letter to the judge overseeing the New York corruption trial in which the former president was convicted on 34 counts, according to The New York Times, which obtained the letter. The Associated Press later confirmed the Times’ report.
The lawyers asked the judge whether they could seek to overturn the former president’s criminal conviction, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling Monday morning that found presidents are largely immune from prosecution for official actions taken while in office.
A lawyer for Trump did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
A spokesman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office prosecuted the fraud case, declined to comment.
The letter sent by Trump’s lawyers is not expected to be made public until Tuesday, the Times reported.
Trump’s sentencing in his corruption trial is scheduled for July 11.
It is not yet clear whether Trump’s efforts to overturn his conviction will be successful. The Times reported that the deadline to file post-trial motions passed in June.
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told Business Insider that Trump’s attempt to overturn his conviction was “unlikely.”
The Manhattan trial focused on actions Trump took before he became president, particularly payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for silence before the 2016 election.
“These were payments made from Trump’s personal account, and the Trump Organization employees involved – Michael Cohen, was his personal lawyer,” Rahmani said.
Rahmani Rahmani said Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the bribe case, would deny a motion to vacate Trump’s conviction. Trump’s lawyers would then likely seek a stay of the conviction while the motion is heard on appeal. Merchan could stay the entire case while the motion is heard or choose to pursue the conviction regardless.
“Even though he doesn’t really have any valid arguments, Trump’s approach has always been to stall,” Rahmani said.
