NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Prosecutors are urging a judge to uphold Donald Trump鈥檚 historic , arguing in court papers made public Thursday that the verdict should stand despite the Supreme Court鈥檚 recent .
The Manhattan district attorney鈥檚 office that the high court鈥檚 opinion 鈥渉as no bearing鈥� on the hush money case because it involves unofficial acts for which the former president is not immune.
鈥淭his case involved evidence of defendant鈥檚 personal conduct, not his official acts," prosecutors wrote in a 66-page filing. They contend there is 鈥渘o basis for disturbing the jury鈥檚 verdict.鈥�
The Republican presidential nominee is because of the Supreme Court鈥檚 July 1 decision. The ruling curbs prosecutions of ex-presidents for official acts and restricts prosecutors from pointing to official acts as evidence that a commander in chief鈥檚 unofficial actions were illegal.
Trump鈥檚 lawyers instead of waiting for the Supreme Court鈥檚 presidential immunity decision, and that the trial was 鈥渢ainted鈥� by evidence that should not have been allowed under the high court鈥檚 ruling, such as testimony from some Trump White House staffers and tweets he sent while president in 2018.
Prosecutors countered that the Supreme Court ruling doesn't apply to the evidence in question, and that regardless, it's "only a sliver of the mountains of testimony and documentary proof" that the jury considered before reaching its verdict May 30.
In a letter Thursday to trial Judge Juan M. Merchan, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche said the prosecution filing contains 鈥渟everal legal and factual misrepresentations,鈥� and asked for permission to file a 30-page response next week.
The Supreme Court ruled about a month after the jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to conceal a deal to pay off porn actor Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. At the time, she was considering going public with a story of a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier.
He denies her claim, maintains he did nothing wrong and says the case is politically motivated. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is a Democrat.
Trump was a private citizen 鈥� campaigning for president, but neither elected nor sworn in 鈥� when Cohen paid Daniels. But Trump was president when Cohen was reimbursed, and Cohen testified that they discussed the repayment arrangement in the Oval Office.
Prosecutors say the reimbursements to Cohen were misleadingly logged as legal expenses in Trump鈥檚 company records.
Merchan is due to rule Sept. 6 on Trump鈥檚 request to overturn the verdict and dismiss the indictment. Trump鈥檚 sentencing is set for Sept. 18, if the verdict stands.
The sentencing, which carries the potential for anything from probation to up to four years in prison, was initially set for mid-July. But within hours of the Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling, Trump鈥檚 lawyers persuaded .
The Supreme Court did not define what constitutes an official act, leaving that matter to lower courts. Indeed, even the conservative justices responsible for the majority opinion differed about what is proper for jurors to hear about a president鈥檚 conduct.
In a separate concurring opinion, Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote that the Constitution does not require juries to be blinded 鈥渢o the circumstances surrounding conduct for which presidents can be held liable鈥� and suggested that it would needlessly 鈥渉amstring鈥� a prosecutor鈥檚 case to prohibit any mention of an official act in question.
Before the Supreme Court ruling, Trump鈥檚 lawyers brought up presidential immunity in a from state court to federal court. In rejecting the move, that 鈥渉ush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a president鈥檚 official acts.鈥�
Later, Trump's lawyers beseeched Merchan to hold off the hush money trial until the Supreme Court ruled on his immunity claim, which arose from a separate prosecution 鈥� the Washington, D.C., federal criminal case pertaining to Trump's . But Merchan ruled that they raised the issue too late because it came well after a deadline for such pretrial requests.
Trump鈥檚 lawyers never raised presidential immunity as a defense in the hush money trial, but they tried unsuccessfully to prevent prosecutors from showing the jury evidence from his time in office. As the trial got underway in April, Merchan balked at the idea that prosecutors be prohibited from showing jurors tweets that Trump had voluntarily sent out to millions of followers.
Trump鈥檚 lawyers argue that presidential immunity should have ruled out some testimony from former White House communications director Hope Hicks and another aide, as well as documents including his 2018 financial disclosure.
Prosecutors countered that the aides鈥� testimony 鈥� including Hicks鈥� account of conversations with Trump about news coverage 鈥� concerned Trump鈥檚 personal matters or described his work practices so generally that immunity doesn鈥檛 apply. The financial disclosure form fell within allowances for using public records, they argued.
As for Trump's tweets, his lawyers contend they were official acts: a president鈥檚 communications to Americans about something pertinent to his credibility as their leader.
Prosecutors maintained otherwise in the new filing.
鈥淒efendant鈥檚 tweets conveying his personal opinion about his private attorney do not bear any conceivable relationship to any official duty of the presidency," they wrote.
Michael R. Sisak And Jennifer Peltz, The Associated Press
