He repeated it throughout the American presidential campaign: Donald Trump is convinced that the Democrats used the judicial system in order to manipulate the electoral results. In this spirit, and as soon as the victory is confirmed, his lawyers are calling for the “immediate dismissal” of the case against Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg, linked to alleged payments made to Stormy Daniels, adult film star, in 2016 to cover up sex scandals that could harm his campaign.
In a letter addressed to Judge Juan Merchan, distributed by Fox NewsTodd Blanche, Donald Trump's lawyer, asserts: “On November 5, the people issued a mandate that overrides the political motivations of the Manhattan district attorney's office. This matter must be immediately canceled. » The election of Trump, according to his lawyers, would invalidate any legitimacy of this procedure.
The presidential immunity argument
Trump's lawyers argue that this procedure violates the principle of presidential immunity, and to do so, they rely on Supreme Court case law dating from 1982. In this case, the Court ruled that the former American president Richard Nixon could not be prosecuted civilly for decisions made during his term in office. They expand that interpretation to include campaign acts, arguing that Trump should be protected from prosecution, even for actions prior to his presidency.
This reading of the law is, however, contested. The hidden payments linked to Stormy Daniels relate to alleged acts carried out before Trump's term and in a personal setting, which would exclude them from the scope of presidential immunity.
Pursuing this case would be “deeply destabilizing” for the country
Pending a decision on their request for annulment, Trump's lawyers also called for an immediate stay of proceedings against their client. Todd Blanche asked the judge to allow a formal motion to be filed by December 20, 2024 and to stop all court deadlines. According to him, pursuing this case would be “profoundly destabilizing” for the functioning of the government and the nation, both nationally and internationally.
In response, while he remains firmly opposed to an annulment, Alvin Bragg requested a postponement of the case until 2029, the year Donald Trump's term ends. He nevertheless suggested that he was ready to examine the arguments put forward by the defense. In the meantime, Judge Merchan has temporarily suspended court deadlines, including the sentencing date originally set for November 26, 2024, to allow the 47th U.S. president to take office.
