{"id":2317824,"date":"2024-08-01T20:24:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T00:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-says-tweets-used-in-hush-money-trial-are-protected-by-immunity-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-01T20:27:31","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T00:27:31","slug":"trump-says-tweets-used-in-hush-money-trial-are-protected-by-immunity-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-says-tweets-used-in-hush-money-trial-are-protected-by-immunity-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump says tweets used in hush money trial are protected by immunity &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-says-tweets-used-in-hush-money-trial-are-protected-by-immunity-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2317824&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/authorities-searching-for-google-co-founder-in-jeffrey-epstein-case\/\" title=\"Authorities Searching for Google Co-founder in Jeffrey Epstein Case\">ongoing legal proceedings involving<\/a> former President Donald Trump, his lawyers are asserting\u200d that tweets used\u200c as evidence in his hush money trial are protected by presidential immunity. Trump&#8217;s attorney, Todd \u2063Blanche, contends that the tweets, which were\u200d made during\u200c Trump&#8217;s presidency, should be considered \u2064as part of his \u200dofficial duties since they pertain \u200bto public matters. The Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, argues otherwise, stating that the \u200btweets \u2063do not reflect official actions but rather personal opinions.\u2063 Notably, the tweets discussed \u200cevents related \u200dto investigations involving Michael Cohen, Trump\u2019s former attorney, who pleaded guilty\u200c to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-president-trump-gives-pardons-to-73-individuals-and-commutes-another-70-sentences-steve-bannon-is-included\/\" title=\"BREAKING: President Trump Gives Pardons to 73 Individuals and Commutes Another 70 Sentences \u2013 Steve Bannon Is Included\">campaign finance violations<\/a>. Following a\u200c Supreme Court decision that partially favored Trump regarding immunity, his defense team is seeking to have his \u200dconviction overturned, claiming that the tweets are\u2063 intertwined with his presidential responsibilities. The trial highlights the complexities surrounding presidential immunity and the\u2064 implications of public statements \u2064made by a sitting president. Sentencing has been postponed to allow for further legal motions regarding this immunity issue.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump says tweets used in hush money trial are protected by immunity<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1721252\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Donald Trump<\/a>&lsquo;s lawyers say the tweets prosecutors cited as evidence during his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donald-trumps-criminal-hush-money-trial-set-for-march-25\/\" title=\"Trump&#039;s hush money trial scheduled for March 25\">criminal hush money trial<\/a> were covered by immunity protections, one of several points say should reverse his conviction.<\/p>\n<p>Trump attorney Todd Blanche argued that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Manhattan\">Manhattan<\/a> district attorney&rsquo;s efforts to &ldquo;rebut any presumptive immunity are deeply flawed,&rdquo; arguing that the Supreme Court has recognized that a president&rsquo;s posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, are &ldquo;pursuant to his official authority to comment on matters of public concern.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Former President Donald Trump sits in Manhattan Criminal Court, on May 13, 2024, in New York. (Sarah Yenesel\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Manhattan District Attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/alvin-bragg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alvin Bragg<\/a>, an elected Democrat, claims his team of prosecutors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3099693\/bragg-argues-scotus-immunity-decision-has-no-bearing-on-trump-hush-money-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>did not violate the presidential immunity doctrine<\/a> by offering as evidence tweets Trump made during his four years as president. That&rsquo;s because prosecutors believe they &ldquo;admitted nothing more than the &lsquo;public record&rsquo; of those Tweets,&rdquo; Blanche explained in a reply motion to presiding Judge Juan Merchan.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Were that the case, the Supreme Court would not have devoted an entire subsection of&nbsp;<em>Trump&nbsp;<\/em>to analyzing public statements (including Tweets), invoked the Presidential &lsquo;bully pulpit,&rsquo; and referenced a President&rsquo;s &lsquo;extraordinary power to speak to his fellow citizens and on their behalf,&#8217;&rdquo; Blanche added.<\/p>\n<p>Blanche suggested at least two out of a group of five &ldquo;Tweets specifically referenced ongoing investigations and therefore did, in fact, relate to the President&rsquo;s core official duties.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;These Tweets touched on&nbsp;&lsquo;[i]nvestigative and prosecutorial decisionmaking,&rsquo; which is the &lsquo;special province&rsquo;&nbsp;of the President,&rdquo; the defense&rsquo;s reply added.<\/p>\n<p>The tweets Trump&rsquo;s team objects to spanned from April 21 to Aug. 22, 2018, and chart a pivotal time when the key witness in the hush money trial, Trump&rsquo;s former fixer and attorney Michael Cohen, was being investigated by Congress over the alleged $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, the issue at the heart of the criminal trial.<\/p>\n<p>In an April 21 tweet, Trump defended Cohen as someone who would never &ldquo;flip&rdquo; on him &ldquo;despite the horrible Witch Hunt and dishonest media!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><\/figure>\n<p>Another tweet the defense lawyers objected to came on Aug. 22, one day after Cohen pleaded guilty to criminal tax evasion and campaign finance violations.<\/p>\n<p>The tweet revealed the contrast between Trump&rsquo;s positive view of Cohen from earlier in the year, which became dramatically more negative in the span of a few months. &ldquo;If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don&rsquo;t retain the services of Michael Cohen!&rdquo; Trump tweeted on Aug. 22, 2018. Cohen also pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in November that year.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><\/figure>\n<p>Ever since the Supreme Court ruled partially in favor of Trump on July 1, finding former presidents enjoy immunity for their official acts, Trump&rsquo;s lawyers have vehemently asserted that decision should invalidate the New York jury&rsquo;s guilty verdict against him from May 30. Merchan has pushed the sentencing back from its original July 11 date to Sept. 18 to allow parties to file motions pertaining to the presidential immunity question.<\/p>\n<p>The district attorney&rsquo;s office previously argued that Trump&rsquo;s tweets introduced at trial did not constitute officials acts because the subject matter &ldquo;consists solely of &lsquo;unofficial acts&rsquo; for which &lsquo;there is no immunity.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Defendant is wrong to claim that the recent Supreme Court decision would apply &lsquo;absolute immunity with respect to these Tweets,&#8217;&rdquo; prosecutors wrote. &ldquo;To the contrary, the Supreme Court specifically recognized that defendant could make public statements &mdash; including Tweets &mdash; &lsquo;in an unofficial capacity,&rsquo; such as if he spoke &lsquo;as a candidate for office or party leader,&rsquo; rather than as the President exercising his Article II powers,&rdquo; prosecutors argued.<\/p>\n<p>Trump was convicted in May of falsifying records of a payment made to Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. The judge plans to rule on Trump&rsquo;s effort to overturn his 34-count conviction on Sept. 6. After that, he&rsquo;ll determine if sentencing is still necessary.<\/p>\n<p>Trump could face jail time in the case, though Merchan could also sentence him to a lesser penalty, including fines, probation, or house arrest.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In addition to his legal arguments citing immunity, Trump on Thursday made his third effort to have Merchan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3108164\/house-gop-demands-judge-merchans-daughter-provide-records-work-kamala-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>recused from the case on the basis<\/a> that he is conflicted due to his daughter Loren Merchan&rsquo;s work for a progressive campaign consulting firm.<\/p>\n<p>Loren Merchan works for Authentic Campaigns, which does business with several prominent Democrats, including presumptive Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1721252\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1721252\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump&#8217;s legal team contends that the tweets referenced as evidence in his hush money trial are shielded by immunity protections, which they argue should lead to the reversal of his conviction. Attorney Todd Blanche claimed that the Manhattan district attorney&#8217;s attempts to challenge this presumed immunity are fundamentally flawed, asserting that the Supreme Court has acknowledged a president\u2019s posts on X (formerly Twitter) as part of their official duty to address public issues. <\/p>\n<p>Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg maintains that his prosecutors did not breach presidential immunity by presenting Trump&#8217;s tweets from his presidency as evidence, arguing they merely reflected a &#8220;public record.&#8221; Blanche countered this in a motion submitted to Judge Juan Merchan, stating that if this were true, the Supreme Court would not have dedicated an entire section of its ruling on Trump to examining public statements\u2014including tweets\u2014highlighting a president&#8217;s unique ability to communicate with citizens.<\/p>\n<p>Blanche pointed out that at least two out of five specific tweets directly related to ongoing investigations and thus pertained to Trump&#8217;s official responsibilities. The contested tweets were posted between April 21 and August 22, 2018, during a critical period when Michael Cohen\u2014Trump\u2019s former lawyer and key witness in the hush money case\u2014was under congressional investigation for allegedly paying $130,000 in hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.<\/p>\n<p>In one tweet from April 21, Trump defended Cohen against what he termed a &#8220;Witch Hunt,&#8221; while another tweet from August 22 expressed disapproval of Cohen after he pleaded guilty to various charges. This shift illustrated Trump&#8217;s changing perception of Cohen over just a few months.<\/p>\n<p>Following a Supreme Court ruling on July 1 affirming some level of immunity for former presidents regarding their official actions, Trump\u2019s lawyers have argued this decision should nullify the jury&#8217;s guilty verdict against him from May 30. Judge Merchan has postponed sentencing originally set for July 11 until September 18 so motions regarding presidential immunity can be filed.<\/p>\n<p>The district attorney\u2019s office previously argued that Trump\u2019s tweets did not represent official acts since they dealt solely with &#8220;unofficial acts&#8221; lacking any claim for immunity. Prosecutors asserted that recent Supreme Court findings do not grant absolute immunity concerning these tweets but rather recognize instances where public statements could be made unofficially\u2014as when speaking as an office candidate or party leader rather than exercising presidential powers.<\/p>\n<p>Trump was found guilty in May for falsifying records related to payments made before the 2016 election. A ruling on his appeal against this conviction is expected on September 6; following which it will be determined whether sentencing is still warranted. Potential penalties could include jail time or lesser consequences such as fines or probation.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Trump has requested Judge Merchan recuse himself due to perceived conflicts stemming from his daughter Loren Merchan&#8217;s work with a progressive campaign consulting firm associated with several prominent Democrats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2317825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Trump-July-2024-scaled-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[36953,3634,6568],"class_list":["post-2317824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-hush-money-trial","tag-trump","tag-tweets"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Trump-July-2024-scaled-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2317824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317824\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2317825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2317824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2317824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2317824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}