Donald Trump recently secured a delay in his sentencing so he could argue in court that his New York conviction should be voided based on the Supreme Court's recent immunity ruling, but one former prosecutor says Trump will not win that particular fight.
Former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade appeared on MSNBC on Wednesday to discuss the former president and his ongoing efforts to undo a conviction by a jury of his peers in his own home state. The host asked her how Trump will fare in his efforts to undo his guilty verdicts.
"I don't think there is anything in this case, the payment of hush money to a porn star, the falsification of business records to conceal that, I don't think there is any way to characterize any of that as an official act that would be immune from prosecution," she said.
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McQuade further noted that "the only sliver of possibility of an argument that Trump's team could raise is this other part of the ruling where the Supreme Court said that the prosecution cannot even use as evidence any official act in bringing the case for unofficial conduct."
"So in this case you have two go back to the trial and say is there anything about this case that was possibly official conduct? I suppose there is an argument that the testimony of Hope Hicks, who was testifying about a conversation she had with Donald Trump when she was a communication staffer for him, is that possibly an official act?" she asked. "I think it is arguable, so I think that could be the issue."
She further explained that Trump still doesn't have it easy.
"I think even if it is erroneous to allow that in, even if Donald Trump did not waive immunity by failing to raise it in a timely fashion, just because there is an error does not mean that the case gets overturned," she added. "You have to show that the error would've made a difference in the outcome of the trial, so I think it makes it an uphill battle for Trump's defense team."
