Former President Donald Trump called on the U.S. Supreme Court to decide a pending case involving presidential immunity days after a New York jury convicted him of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to an adult actress.
Supreme Court justices are considering a case involving Trump and if presidents have immunity from criminal prosecutions. Trump’s team argued the president must have immunity for a functioning democracy to flourish. The attorney for the federal government argued presidents don’t enjoy blanket criminal immunity.
The nation’s highest court heard those oral arguments in the case on April 25. When he was president, Trump picked three members of the nine-member U.S. Supreme Court: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
Trump said Sunday that the Supreme Court needs to rule on the pending case.
“The ‘Sentencing’ for not having done anything wrong will be, conveniently for the Fascists, 4 days before the Republican National Convention,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “A Radical Left Soros backed D.A., who ran on a platform of ‘I will get Trump,’ reporting to an ‘Acting’ Local Judge, appointed by the Democrats, who is HIGHLY CONFLICTED, will make a decision which will determine the future of our Nation? The United States Supreme Court MUST DECIDE!”
Trump has said he plans to appeal the New York verdict. He has focused attention on the instructions Judge Juan Merchan gave the jury.
“Nobody even knew what the crime was until the Judge gave his Unconstitutional Instructions,” Trump wrote in another social media post. “A total Hoax! A case like this has NEVER been brought before. A Country in peril. Election Interference!!!”
Last week, a jury convicted Trump, 77, of 34 counts of falsifying business records. Under New York state law, falsifying business records in the first degree is a Class E felony with a maximum sentence of four years in prison per count. Sentencing in that case is set for July 11.
In the meantime, Trump is preparing to face President Joe Biden in a November rematch for the White House.
In New York, the case was focused on Trump’s alleged sexual encounter with an adult film actress in 2006 and a $130,000 payment to her in 2016 to keep her quiet ahead of the 2016 election. Trump denied the encounter happened. A jury convicted him at trial.
Just when the Supreme Court will rule on the case remains to be seen. All opinions of the Supreme Court are, usually, handed down by the last day of the Court’s term (the day in late June/early July when the Court recesses for the summer). With the exception of this deadline, there are no rules concerning when decisions must be released.
