Donald Trump’s judge criminal hush money case On Tuesday in New York, it will be decided whether to annul Trump’s conviction based on the US Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity.

a jury He convicted Trump in May One of 34 felony counts involving falsifying business records related to paying hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniel to silence allegations that she had sexual intercourse with Trump in 2006 to improve her chances of being elected in the 2016 presidential election.

If Judge Juan Merchan confirms the conviction, sentencing in the case is scheduled for November 26, less than two months before Trump takes office.

Although the $130,000 payment was made before Trump’s ascension to the presidency, Trump claimed prosecutors filled in “glaring gaps in their case” with evidence about official actions he later took while in office. In its decision in July, the Supreme Court ruled that they were deported. Open presidential immunity.

Prosecutors argued that the case focused on “purely personal” conduct and “had nothing to do with any official duties of the presidency.”

“(T)he evidence he claimed was influenced by the Supreme Court’s decision constituted only a fraction of the mountains of testimony and documentary evidence the jury considered in finding him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt on all 34 felony charges,” prosecutors wrote. he said.

Defense attorneys argued that some evidence, including Trump’s conversations with then-White House communications director Hope Hicks and social media posts by Trump as president, distorted the jury’s understanding of the case.

In one example cited by prosecutors, Hicks said he said he preferred the story about Trump’s hush-money payment to be published after the election, suggesting he was aware Daniels’ allegations could affect the race. A prosecutor called the testimony “the final nail in Mr. Trump’s coffin” in his closing statement.

In response, prosecutors argued that Hicks’ testimony “concerned only with unofficial conduct” and would not be deemed exempt.

Trump demanded that the decision be overturned or the case dismissed entirely. If Judge Merchan overturns the conviction, he could order a new trial, which would be delayed for at least four years until Trump leaves office, or dismiss the indictment altogether.

Merchan twice postponed the sentence, following the immunity ruling in July and again in September, “to avoid any appearance – however unfair – that the trial was influenced or attempted to influence the upcoming Presidential election.” said the judge.

Following Trump’s election victory, he will be inaugurated less than two months from his sentencing date, limiting Merchan’s options for sentencing the president-elect, experts say.

Trump’s conviction carries a sentence of up to four years in prison, but first-time offenders normally receive lesser sentences.

Meanwhile, special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of both federal criminal cases related to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and conceal classified documents after he left the White House, based on the Justice Department’s long-standing policy banning Trump from voting. It is also expected to decrease. prosecution of sitting presidents. Trump’s criminal election interference trial in Georgia has also been mired in delays, and his conviction in New York has become the subject of litigation. the last of his criminal disabilities before regaining the presidency.

In his September order deferring sentencing until this month, Judge Merchan called the case “a case that stands alone, in a unique place in the history of this Nation.”