NYC judge rejects Trump's bid to dismiss conviction based on presidential immunity



Judge Juan Merchan rejected President-elect Donald Trump's request to dismiss the conviction in his New York criminal case on the basis of presidential immunity.

On Monday, Merchan presented a 41-page ruling denying Trump's bid and upholding the 34-count conviction for falsifying business records.

'This lawless case should have never been brought.'

Earlier this year, Trump's lawyers filed a motion to overturn the jury's guilty verdict, arguing that some of the prosecution's evidence was from his time in office and should have been excluded based on the United States Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling.

Merchan wrote in his rejection that all of the evidence was related "entirely to unofficial conduct and thus, receive no immunity protections."

"The People's use of these acts as evidence of the decidedly personal acts of falsifying business records poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the Executive Branch," Merchan stated.

Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, told Fox News Digital, "Today's decision by deeply conflicted, acting Justice Merchan in the Manhattan DA Witch Hunt is a direct violation of the Supreme Court's decision on immunity, and other longstanding jurisprudence."

"This lawless case should have never been brought, and the Constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed, as President Trump must be allowed to continue the Presidential Transition process, and execute the vital duties of the presidency, unobstructed by the remains of this, or any other, Witch Hunt," Cheung added.

While Merchan has rejected this request, he has not yet ruled on Trump's formal bid to dismiss the case.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has argued against Trump's request to dismiss the convictions and instead asked for the case to be put on ice until the end of his presidency.

Bragg's office contended that issuing a stay and waiting to sentence Trump in 2029 would exempt him "from any immediate obligations in this case during his time in office, while at the same time respecting the public interest in upholding the rule of law and preserving the meaningful aspects of the criminal process that have already taken place."

Trump's lawyers argued that Bragg's "ridiculous suggestion that they could simply resume proceedings after President Trump leaves Office, more than a decade after they commenced their investigation in 2018, is not an option."

Trump is no longer facing any federal indictments. The Georgia case, which never reached trial, is currently tied up in appeals.

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Chuck Schumer tries to override 'MAGA' Supreme Court's Trump immunity ruling by introducing No Kings Act



Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) announced Thursday his plan to introduce new legislation that would undercut the Supreme Court's recent immunity ruling.

The act, if passed, would make clear that Congress has the authority to decide "to whom federal criminal laws may be applied," instead of the Supreme Court, according to the proposed legislation, NBC News reported.

In response to a motion filed by Donald Trump's legal counsel, the Supreme Court ruled last month that the former president is entitled to "absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority." He also has "at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts," the high court found.

As a result of the Supreme Court's ruling, a federal case against Trump that alleged he unlawfully maintained classified documents after his presidency — one of the four cases lodged against Trump — was recently dismissed by United States District Judge Eileen Cannon, who determined that special counsel Jack Smith's "appointment and funding" were "unlawful."

The judge's decision to toss the case sparked outrage from Trump's Democratic opponents.

In the days following the ruling, Schumer wrote on X, "We were all taught in grade school that there are no kings here in America. But what the MAGA Justices have done is effectively place a crown on Trump's head."

He announced lawmakers were working on a bill to classify Trump's actions listed in the cases as "unofficial acts." As part of the Supreme Court's ruling, it determined that current and former presidents are not entitled to immunity for unofficial acts; however, it did not define what constitutes an official or unofficial act.

On Thursday, one month after the high court's decision, Schumer stated that he plans to propose the No Kings Act to undo the "disastrous immunity ruling" by the "MAGA Supreme Court."

"The Founders were explicit: no man in America shall be a king. But the MAGA Supreme Court threw out centuries of precedent and anointed Trump and subsequent presidents as kings above the law. That's why I'm introducing the No Kings Act to crack down on this dangerous precedent," Schumer wrote in a post on X.

In a separate social media post, he stated, "This bill would reaffirm that the President is not immune to legal accountability and remove the Supreme Court's jurisdiction to hear appeals related to presidential immunity."

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