Decision on Trump immunity expected

A jury in New York found Trump guilty on 34 charges at the end of May.

The trial concerned the illegal concealment of hush money payments to a porn actress in order to gain advantages in the 2016 presidential election campaign. It was the first time in the history of the United States that a former president was convicted of a criminal offense.

Judge Juan Merchan must now decide whether a Supreme Court decision can be applied to the case. This states that presidents enjoy very broad immunity for their official acts. Should Merchan grant a corresponding request from Trump's defense, the guilty verdict against him in May would probably be overturned.

If, on the other hand, the judge rejects the motion, the question remains as to whether the sentence currently scheduled for the end of November will stand. In the worst case scenario, Trump could theoretically face several years in prison. Observers consider this sentence to be very unlikely after his re-election. A sentence could also be suspended, for example.

Convicted felon as US president

At the beginning of November, Trump was re-elected US President as a convicted felon - his victory against Democrat Kamala Harris was also a first in the country's history. Originally, the sentence should have been announced in mid-September. However, Judge Merchan then granted Trump's request that the sentence not be announced until after the presidential election.

Trump's defense had already tried to obstruct the proceedings and stop them altogether during the trial. The landmark ruling by the right-wing conservative majority of the Supreme Court came in handy for Trump's lawyers.

Although the New York hush money case primarily revolves around Trump's actions as a presidential candidate before the 2016 election and therefore does not fall within his term of office as president from 2017, the Supreme Court's ruling also states that official acts by presidents cannot be cited as evidence in criminal proceedings. Trump's lawyers argue that the prosecution in the case also relied on evidence from Trump's time in the White House.