Lawyers for Donald Trump have requested that the former president's conviction in his hush money case be overturned and his sentence be stayed this month, US media report.
A letter Trump's lawyers sent to the New York judge presiding over the trial reportedly referenced Monday's Supreme Court ruling that granted the former president immunity from prosecution for official acts he took while in office.
In May, Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying corporate recordsHe will hear his sentence on July 11.
He signed the documents during his White House tenure in 2017. His lawyers say this should be taken into account.
Last year, lawyers also argued that the allegations in the case related to official acts that fell within the scope of his presidential duties.
However, a federal judge wrote that Trump had failed to show that his conduct “was directed toward or related to an act done by or for the President under [colour] of the official acts of a president.”
Monday's Supreme Court ruling was hailed by Trump as a “great victory” for democracy.
The justices ruled that a president enjoys immunity for “official acts” but not for “unofficial acts.”
The verdict concerns another case against Trump: he is accused of trying to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which gave Joe Biden the victory.
Responding to the Supreme Court ruling, President Biden described it as a “dangerous precedent” that undermines the “rule of law” in America.
Trump's lawyers sent the letter to New York Judge Juan Merchan on Monday, US media reported.
The attorneys argue that the Supreme Court's latest ruling upholds the defense's position in the New York case that some of the prosecution's evidence should not have been admitted because it involved official presidential acts.
The letter has not yet been made public and Judge Merchan has not yet commented on the matter.
In May, a panel of 12 Manhattan jurors unanimously convicted Trump of all charges of falsifying corporate records.
During the trial, the court heard from a number of witnesses, including former porn star Stormy Daniels, whose alleged sexual encounter with the former president was at the center of the case.
The former president was accused of concealing a payment to keep Ms. Daniels silent in the final days of his 2016 election campaign.
Prosecutors alleged that Trump violated election law by approving a plan to disguise the money as legal fees.
Trump called the ruling in the New York case a “disgrace.”
