– The verdict from the jury must be dismissed, and the indictment must be dismissed, wrote Trump’s lawyers according to a court document that the Washington Post has seen. A lot has happened in American politics since former US President Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 counts in the bribery case: And what was supposed to be a week with full focus on Trump before the Republican Party’s national convention kicks off next Monday, has been a rare Biden week. While journalists, commentators and readers have been glued to their screens and watched Joe Biden mix up the names of Putin and Zelensky, Trump’s lawyers have requested that the decision in the bribery case be overturned. Something a defense lawyer would do in such a case, says US expert and lawyer Sofie Høgestøl. Nevertheless: – This would probably have received much more attention if it weren’t for the fact that Biden has the week he has, says US expert and lawyer Sofie Høgestøl. What has happened since the jury verdict? In May, a jury unanimously concluded that Trump had paid money to Stormy Daniels, a porn actress with whom Trump allegedly had sex while he was married to Melania Trump. The payments were settled before the presidential election in 2016 so that the case would not affect Trump’s support. Trump reacted roughly as it appears when he received the decision in the hush money case. Photo: Julia Nikhinson / AP The sentencing was supposed to take place on Thursday 11 July, but was moved to September after the US Supreme Court ruled on immunity for presidents. Instead, July 11 was the day when Trump’s lawyers asked the court in New York to drop the entire indictment. I think the bribes were official documents The judgment divided the Supreme Court judges along party political lines. The conservative majority ruled that evidence linked to “official documents” cannot be used against a former president in court. The Supreme Court judges defined some documents as clearly official. Other actions they left it up to the judges in the other cases against Trump to consider. New York Times the day after the jury verdict. Photo: Stephani Spindel / Reuters Now Trump’s lawyers, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, believe that the judge should consider the payments of bribe money as official documents. Therefore, the decision should be invalid, and the entire charge dismissed, they write. Must refute own argument The two lawyers for Trump wrote on Thursday in a claim that the prosecutors based much of the evidence against Trump on “official documents”. Therefore, some of the key testimonies that were used against Trump should be taken out of the jury case, they believe. But much of the case is about what was done before Trump was elected president. – And his lawyers strongly argued for exactly this during the trial: that Trump was acting as a private person. The state prosecutors will probably pick up those arguments again when they now have to convince the judge that the decision still stands, says Høgestøl. Both supporters and opponents of Trump turned up when he gave a speech the day after he was found guilty in the bribery case. Photo: MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO / AFP When a federal court in New York was to decide whether the trial should be moved from a state court to a federal one, they believed that Trump’s role in the money transfers to Daniels was not related to his official position as president. Lucky before the national meeting – the Supreme Court judgment was a gift package for Trump, says Høgestøl. It is probably easier for Trump to officially announce his presidential candidacy at the Republican National Convention four days later if he has not just received a fine or other form of punishment. Trump is again the Republicans’ presidential candidate. Several supporters say that the jury’s decision has nothing to say to them. Photo: AFP Now it is up to Trump to buy time. If he were to be elected president again, the matter would probably be put on hold. The Ministry of Justice in the USA has an internal guideline not to prosecute sitting presidents. – And as president, one is after all the head of the Ministry of Justice, so that line probably stays that way, says Høgestøl. Published 12.07.2024, at 12.51
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Trump wants to get rid of the bribery case after the US Supreme Court granted him partial immunity – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
