Acting New York State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan on Wednesday rejected Donald Trump’s lawyers’ request for presidential immunity claims in the hush money criminal case set to go on trial on April 15. Former Department of Justice Attorney Andrew Weissmann weighed in on the judge’s decision in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
What Happened: “Criminal accountability in NY is high,” Weissmann, who served as Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1991 to 2002 said. The trial, according to the legal expert, is now nearly certain to go ahead. “The 4/15 NY criminal trial is going forward, so Donald needs to fasten his seat belt — it’s taking off,” he said.
Merchan reportedly said in his six-page ruling that the request was untimely, as the ex–president’s lawyers had “myriad opportunities” to raise the immunity issue. Trump’s lawyers raised the issue in March, well after a deadline for pretrial motions had already passed, an AP report said.
The March 7 filing “raises real questions about the sincerity and actual purpose of the motion,” the judge reportedly said in the filing.
Why It’s Important: Trump has already requested presidential immunity in his federal as well as Georgia state election subversion cases and the federal criminal case related to the mishandling of classified documents.
The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for April 25 to consider whether former presidents are immune from “criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during their tenure in office.”
A nationwide poll by the Marquette Law School showed that only 28% of Americans surveyed for the poll supported immunity for Trump, while 56% opposed. Trump leads President Joe Biden by a narrow margin for the 2024 election, going by the results of a majority of nationwide polls.
The hush-money case is turning out to be a setback for Trump as he will be forced to be in the courtroom during the peak period of his presidential campaign. The former president, meanwhile, did himself little favor by posting caustic comments about Merchan and his daughter on his social media handle, despite a gag order being in place.
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