A court in New York refused to overturn a jury’s guilty verdict against Donald Trump in the case of payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels against the backdrop of his victory in the US presidential election, follows from the decision.
⠀
“The defendant’s motion to vacate the indictment and vacate the jury’s verdict is denied,” the court’s decision said.
⠀
The court found that even if it accepts that the entire case against Trump falls under presidential immunity, then in any case, all previously presented evidence suggests that these were purely personal actions to falsify business records, which “does not pose a risk of invasion of authority and functions of the executive branch.”
⠀
In this way, the judge responded to the defense’s contention that the evidence should not have been presented to the jury on the grounds that it fell under presidential immunity.
⠀
“Finally, the court finds that, if there was an error in the presentation of the challenged evidence, the error was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt,” the decision states.
⠀
However, the court did not set a new date for sentencing.
⠀
Previously, the New York prosecutor’s office asked not to drop the case against the future president, even though a guilty verdict may not be handed down during his presidential term.
⠀
Trump’s lawyers are trying to prevent a conviction in the case of forgery of documents by the Trump Organization in paying money to porn actress Stormy Daniels, with whom the politician is credited with having connections. The defense is asking the court to stop prosecuting the politician despite the jury’s guilty verdict, arguing that the Constitution limits prosecutors from bringing the president-elect to justice.
⠀
Trump, who was already president of the United States, won the presidential election on November 5. Trump became the second person in US history to return to the White House after a break. He became the first election winner to face criminal charges.
