Donald Trump was unanimously convicted by a jury in May on 34 felony counts, including falsifying his business records to cover up a potential sex scandal that would have impacted his chances of winning the 2016 election.
He was originally set to be sentenced today, July 11th. But after a delay brought on by his lawyers getting microbones over the SCOTUS immunity decision, Trump was scheduled to be sentenced in September.
Instead of being sentenced today, Trump's lawyers are now asking New York Judge Juan Merchan to overturn the convictions entirely. I guess they've had enough time to pore over the full scope of the Constitution-breaking rules to try to weasel out of any accountability for Trump's crimes.
In the court documents, which were made public Thursday, Trump's shysters claim that prosecutors "rushed" to try Trump in the spring while the Supremes were still working on their "Where Did Our Constitution Go?" routine.
The whining in the letter to Judge Merchan is fully on brand for Donny Streisand Effect.
“Rather than wait for the Supreme Court’s guidance, the prosecutors scoffed with hubris at President Trump’s immunity motions and insisted on rushing to trial,” Trump’s lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote. “Your Honor now has the authority to address these injustices, and the court is duty-bound to do so in light of the Supreme Court’s decision.”
"Scoffed with hubris," okay big SAT word guys. Pretty sure the "hubris" here is thinking you can ask a judge to overturn a unanimous jury decision because you're scared of being sentenced to prison. Among his entire life of other acts of hubris. BUT I DIGRESS.
The compromised SCOTUS didn't define what constitutes an "official act" regarding immunity, leaving that to lower courts.
So of course Trump lawyers now say jurors shouldn’t have been allowed to hear certain pieces of testimony that may be considered "official acts" retrospectively.
They cite Trump’s conversations with then-White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, along with testimony from another Trump aide about how Trump got personal mail in the Oval Office, and some tweets that he sent while in office. Some of the checks and invoices at issue in the case were also from his administration.
He's still a criminal who committed fraud and election interference. He's still facing 54 more felony charges across three trials. He doesn't deserve any immunity.
Here's hoping Judge Merchan has a nice chuckle over that letter and makes the right decision to keep Trump's sentencing on the docket.