Trump Set to Enter White House as First Convicted Felon President After Scandal-Dogged Republican Loses Latest Bid to Have Hush Money Case Tossed Out
Donald Trump has lost his latest bid to have his hush money conviction tossed out.
Dec. 17 2024, Published 4:00 p.m. ET
Donald Trump is set to become the first convicted felon to hold the presidential office.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the embattled president-elect lost his bid to have his hush money case conviction tossed out.
In May, a Manhattan jury found Trump, 78, guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal payments to former adult film star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election.
Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in May.
Trump was initially scheduled to be sentenced in the case in late November; however, his shocking election victory led Judge Juan Merchan to indefinitely postpone his sentencing date. Prosecutors agreed the president-elect would not be sentenced while in office but argued his criminal conviction should stand.
Prosecutors said the sentencing could be delayed or modified, but throwing out the conviction altogether would be an "extreme remedy".
On Monday, December 16, Merchan ruled the charges would not be dismissed after Trump's lawyers argued his conviction should be tossed out because he was elected president.
Merchan centered his 41-page ruling on whether or not presidential immunity could be applied in the case, as Trump's lawyers argued, after the Supreme Court ruled the president should have broad immunity for official acts while in office.
Trump's sentencing in his hush money case was indefinitely postponed following his November election victory.
He further stated the evidence contested by Trump's legal team – which was taken during his first presidential term – was related "entirely to unofficial conduct" and thus did not quality for broad immunity.
Merchan wrote: "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.
"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."
Judge Juan Merchan ruled Trump's conduct in the hush money case did not quality for presidential immunity as official acts of the office.
In response to Merchan's ruling, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung slammed the judge's decision, claiming it was "a direct violation of the Supreme Court's decision on immunity, and other longstanding jurisprudence".
Trump's lawyers are expected to appeal Merchan's ruling, which one of several dismissal motions they have filed in their desperate attempt to overturn his conviction.
Merchan has yet to rule on their motion claiming his presidential status was a "legal impediment" to further criminal proceedings.
Prosecutors previously said throwing out the jury's conviction would be an 'extreme remedy'.'
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The president elect's initial July sentencing date was postponed twice due to the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity, which pushed the date to after the election.
Trump was convicted over a $130,000 reimbursement payment made to then-lawyer Michael Cohen, who paid Daniels to silence her about an alleged affair she had with Trump.
