Judge to rule on throwing out Trump hush money conviction

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The judge in US President-elect Donald Trump’s New York criminal case will decide Tuesday whether to throw out his conviction, potentially handing him a major legal win as he prepares to take office again.

Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in May after a jury found he had fraudulently manipulated business records to cover up an alleged sexual encounter with a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.

Trump, due to be sentenced on 26 November, may receive a reprieve if Judge Juan Merchan decides to dismiss the case following the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity.

That landmark ruling saw the court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, decide that presidents have sweeping immunity from prosecution for a range of official acts committed while in office.

Ahead of the election, Trump’s lawyers moved to have the case thrown out in light of the Supreme Court decision, a move which prosecutors have firmly rejected.

If Merchan throws out the case on that basis, there will be no sentencing of Trump, 78.

If he does not, Trump’s legal team would almost certainly seek to oppose or delay any sentencing, insisting it would interfere with Trump’s role as commander-in-chief once he is sworn in on 20 January.