New York Judge Juan Merchan ruled Monday that President-elect Donald Trump’s felony conviction in his hush money case should not be thrown out due to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on his presidential immunity, according to a court filing.
Merchan issued his decision to reject Trump’s lawyers’ attempt to dismiss the former president’s 34-count guilty verdict in May for falsifying business records. In his 41-page ruling, the New York judge wrote that, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in June that presidents, while in office, have immunity for “official acts” from criminal prosecution, the case should still not be dismissed.
“This Court concludes that if error occurred regarding the introduction of the challenged evidence, such error was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt,” Merchan wrote. “Even if this Court did find that the disputed evidence constitutes official acts under the auspices of the Trump decision, which it does not, Defendant’s motion is still denied as introduction of the disputed evidence constitutes harmless error and no mode of proceedings error has taken place.”
Following Trump’s victory in November, Merchan paused all deadlines in the former president’s case until December, including his sentencing for the hush money case. At the time, Trump’s attorneys argued for the dismissal of the case, claiming it would “avoid unconstitutional impediments to President Trump’s ability to govern.”
In addition to his ruling, Merchan sent a letter to Trump’s defense team over allegations that there had been juror misconduct, according to CNN. However, due to his legal team not filing a motion to dismiss the conviction based on their juror allegations, Merchan wrote that they would need to properly file in order for him to address the concerns.
“Allegations of juror misconduct should be thoroughly investigated. However, this Court is prohibited from deciding such claims on the basis of mere hearsay and conjecture,” Merchan said. “This Court cannot allow the public filing of unsworn, and admittedly contested statements. To do so would threaten the safety of the jurors and violate the agreed upon Order Regulating Disclosure of Juror Information.”
However, despite the Monday ruling, Merchan has not ruled on a motion to dismiss the verdict due to the former president being elected.
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