Former U.S. President Donald Trump stepped out of the courthouse on May 30, 2024, after a jury convicted him on 34 felony charges at his trial held at the New York State Supreme Court. The case centered on accusations of falsifying business records tied to payments reportedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign.
In a separate development, President-elect Trump failed to get his conviction dismissed on the grounds of presidential immunity, as Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan rejected his legal team’s arguments. Trump’s attorneys argued that the prosecution’s reliance on testimony from former White House staff and other evidence should have led to a dismissal of the charges.
Judge Merchan has yet to decide on other claims submitted by Trump’s lawyers, who are seeking to overturn his conviction. These claims highlight Trump’s re-election as president for a non-consecutive term in November. The exact date for sentencing, should Merchan dismiss these arguments, remains uncertain.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, responsible for prosecuting the case, has suggested delaying Trump’s sentencing until after his tenure ends, or ensuring he isn’t jailed. Trump’s legal team based their argument on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that suggested presidents might have immunity for official acts while in office. However, Merchan argued in his ruling that the alleged falsification of business records was purely personal and did not encroach upon presidential duties.
In his 41-page document, Merchan stated that even if any errors were made regarding the evidence, the overwhelming guilt made such errors negligible.
Todd Blanche, Trump’s attorney, requested a delay in sentencing until all appeals are completed. Trump is notably the first former president to receive a criminal conviction, following the guilty verdict in Manhattan’s state-level court in May.
Central to the case was a $130,000 payment by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer, to Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election. Cohen, later reimbursed by Trump, claimed the payment was intended to ensure Daniels’ silence regarding an alleged encounter with Trump a decade earlier, a claim Trump has vigorously denied.
Evidence presented during the trial included some actions linked to Trump’s time in the White House. Reacting to the decision, Trump’s spokesman, Steven Cheung, issued a statement describing the ruling as a violation of Supreme Court decisions regarding immunity, insisting that the case should be dropped to allow Trump to focus on his duties as President-elect without distraction.
