President-elect Donald Trump on Monday lost a bid to have his 34 felony convictions overturned based on a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, but he still has multiple options to fight the hush money case.
New York Judge Juan Merchan ruled Monday that the evidence presented at Trump's trial was related to Trump's unofficial conduct, not his official actions as president, and was therefore accurate. For example, Merchan wrote that testimony about conversations with Trump about an alleged sexual encounter before Trump's presidency was not the kind of public interest the Supreme Court was concerned about in its immunity ruling.
Trump railed on social media Tuesday against Merchan's decision as “a completely illegal, psychotic order” that the Supreme Court disrespected.
More: Donald Trump accuses jury misconduct in New York hush money case. Prosecutors call it 'hearsay'
As upset as Trump seemed after the latest ruling, he still has arguments and possible strategies to challenge his felony convictions, and even the prosecutor has suggested that a short-term conviction may not be appropriate.
“I think the battle is, 'Does the conviction stand or not?'” Joshua Naftalis, a New York trial attorney and former federal prosecutor, told USA TODAY. “And prison is kind of off the table.”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump after a jury found him guilty on all 34 charges in his criminal trial at the Supreme Court of the State of New York in Manhattan on May 30, 2024. Trump faced 34 felony counts of falsifying company records in connection with a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump was convicted on May 30 of 34 felonies for falsifying company records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Daniels has claimed she and Trump had a sexual encounter in 2006, a claim Trump denies.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office declined to comment. Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement that the case, which he called a “Witch Hunt,” should never have been brought and should now be dismissed.
Here's a look at what comes next:
Will Trump come to power as a criminal?
So far, it appears that Trump's 34 felony convictions will be in effect when he takes office on January 20, 2025. However, he has other arguments before Judge Merchan to have the convictions dismissed.
Earlier this month, the president-elect's legal team filed a motion arguing that the case — including Trump's convictions and indictment — should be dismissed because the ongoing proceedings are interfering with the presidential transition and will soon directly impede his presidency.
Simply delaying the proceedings until after Trump's presidency would still create “unacceptable distractions and distractions from President Trump's efforts to lead the nation,” according to Trump's motion.
More: A New York judge upholds Trump's hush money conviction despite Supreme Court immunity ruling
The prosecutors who won the conviction against Trump are fighting back, arguing that “the president-elect's immunity does not exist,” and that Trump's temporary immunity after his inauguration “still will not justify the extreme remedy of seeking the unanimous to overrule the guilty verdict of the jury'.
Judge Merchan wrote in a letter Monday that he is currently reviewing those arguments. He did not say when he will decide on them.
Will Trump ever be convicted?
Trump has successfully postponed his sentencing, originally scheduled for July 11, several times. The last scheduled date, November 26, was removed from the calendar after Trump's election.
At this point, it is unclear whether Trump will ever be convicted.
Prosecutors have floated multiple options for Judge Merchan, including delaying sentencing until after Trump's next presidency or closing Trump's case and permanently vacating the conviction, while still noting that he was convicted but that he was not given the opportunity to make his appeal after the conviction.
Still, Merchan might consider pushing for a conviction before Trump's inauguration as a way to create some finality in the case, rather than waiting another four years, according to New York trial attorney Joshua Naftalis.
“A judge could just say, 'There's a public interest in resolving this and convicting him, and the answer is, I'm going to move forward on whatever schedule, but I'm not going to put him in jail.'” said Naphtalis.
However, Trump also claims that the conviction cannot happen anytime soon, even if Merchan decides not to throw out the convictions. In a motion earlier this month, Trump argued that Merchan should allow him a full appeal to get the case out of Merchan's hands and into federal court before sentencing could take place.
More: “There is no immunity for presidents-elect.” Prosecutors in New York defend Trump's convictions
That's once again an unprecedented argument for courts to address, at least when it comes to an ex-president and a newly elected president.
It all adds up to a lot of uncertainty about the fate of Trump's hush money case.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What's next in Trump's criminal hush-money case in New York?
