Donald Trump's New York conviction is in jeopardy after the Supreme Court's bombshell immunity ruling, according to a legal expert.
Alvin Bragg's case against Trump relied on evidence that should never have been allowed under the court's immunity precedent, defense lawyer David W. Fischer explained in a column on Julie Kelly's Substack.
The judge, Juan Merchan, will rule on Trump's motion to dismiss the conviction in September, two days before Trump's sentencing. Trump's request is based on the Supreme Court's immunity decision, which held that a president's "official acts" cannot be prosecuted or used as evidence.
Merchan has consistently ruled against Trump, and many expect that pattern to continue when the judge decides on Trump's motion in September.
Even if Merchan shuts Trump down on immunity, it is likely that Trump's sentencing will be postponed so he can appeal, Fischer argued. Bragg can see the writing on the wall, too.
"That’s the reason why Bragg did not oppose Trump’s request to delay his September sentencing date until after the November election," Fischer wrote.
"Assuming Trump is re-elected, the New York case will evaporate, either through the appellate or political process," he added.
The Supreme Court explained in its immunity ruling that presidents cannot be probed over their official acts, as it would expose their authority to dangerous "intrusion." But Bragg's prosecution of Trump relied heavily on testimony from former Trump staffer Hope Hicks and other evidence that fell within the "outer perimeter" of Trump's presidential duties, Fischer said.
Bragg has dismissed the inclusion of his evidence as "harmless error," but Trump's lawyers argue the error was a much more significant one that corrupted the trial.
"Because of the implications for the institution of the Presidency, the use of official-acts evidence was a structural error under the federal Constitution that tainted [the District Attorney's] grand jury proceedings as well as the trial," Trump's lawyers wrote last month.
The Supreme Court's immunity ruling has already placed Trump's January 6th case in limbo, and a separate classified documents case was tossed by the judge. Another criminal case in Georgia has been delayed indefinitely by the prosecutor's own misconduct.
Democrats, and Kamala Harris in particular, have been left clinging to the flimsy New York conviction to label Trump a "convicted felon."
