Judge rules on whether Trump can claim presidential immunity in hush money case he wants thrown out
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Donald Trump does not have presidential immunity in his New York hush money case. Judge Juan Merchan wrote Monday that the conviction related to his payment to porn star Stormy Daniels should not be dismissed. It comes as Trump seeks to throw out the case after the Supreme Court's presidential immunity decision this summer.
![[The Supreme Court ruled in July that Presidents of the United States have immunity from prosecution for official acts in office]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/01/93216049-14199803-image-a-7_1734397276366.jpg)
But the judge ruled the evidence presented in the case earlier this year was related 'entirely to unofficial conduct' and therefore were not official actions as president. '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.
![[But Judge Merchen (pictured) wrote in a Monday ruling that Trump's actions presented as evidence in the hush money trial were not official acts as president]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/01/93216129-14199803-image-a-8_1734398865962.jpg)
'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.'.
![[Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg offered Judge Juan Merchan a range of options to avoid dropping Donald Trump's criminal conviction, including getting rid of the recommendation for prison time]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/10/20/93013875-14178981-image-a-18_1733864123909.jpg)
Prosecutors asked a New York judge last week to spare Trump prison time for his hush-money conviction in their new filing. It is an effort to prevent the case from being thrown out altogether. Merchan did not rule Monday on that motion. Instead, his 41-page decision focused on the question of presidential immunity.
A jury in May found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. In documents made public last wee, prosecutors offer a range of alternatives to imprisoning a president in order to keep his conviction on the books.
