NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s lawyers on Monday asked the New York judge presiding over his hush-money case to throw out his conviction and delay his sentencing, which was to be determined later this month.
The letter to Judge Juan M. Merchan referenced the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling earlier Monday and asked the judge to delay Trump’s sentencing while he considers the high court’s decision and how it might affect the case in New York, the sources said.
The people were not allowed to discuss the details of the letter before it was made public. They spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The Supreme Court ruled for the first time on Monday that former presidents enjoy broad immunity from prosecution.
Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying corporate records in an effort, prosecutors say, to cover up a hush-money payment just before the 2016 presidential election.
Merchan instituted a policy in the run-up to the trial that required both sides to send him a one-page letter summarizing their arguments before filing longer briefs. He said he did so to better manage the caseload so he wouldn’t be swamped with voluminous paperwork.