Hours After SCOTUS Ruling, Trump Moves to Toss Conviction

Donald Trump apparently wasted no time putting Monday's Supreme Court ruling to use, or at least attempting to. A source tells outlets including the New York Times and CNN that Trump's lawyers on Monday submitted a letter to the judge overseeing the former president's hush money case indicating their intent to challenge Trump's conviction in that case. Specifically, they asked the judge for permission to file a motion aiming to have the conviction tossed, and they asked the judge to postpone Trump's July 11 sentencing in the case while he considers whether the Supreme Court ruling—which granted Trump broad immunity for official actions taken as president—affects the hush money conviction.

The Times notes the defense team's effort "might be a long shot," since the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels happened while Trump was a candidate, not yet in office. However, prosecutors did use some evidence from Trump's time as president, and indeed, Trump's lawyers say in their letter that the SCOTUS ruling reinforced their belief that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg should not have been permitted to offer any evidence regarding "official acts" carried out by President Trump. Prosecutors will be able to respond to the letter after it is released to the public, which could happen Tuesday.