New York responds to Missouri lawsuit in Trump business fraud case

New York Attorney General Letitia James argued in a legal filing Wednesday that the U.S. Supreme Court not delay a sentencing hearing for the former president Donald Trump. Missouri earlier this month asked the high court to prevent New York from sentencing Trump for business fraud.

What is New York saying in response to Missouri’s motion? New York Attorney General Letitia James argued that Missouri lacked the legal right to interfere in a New York court case. The case against Trump was an independent action by a state-level official in New York. James added that the case did not involve a dispute between Missouri and New York and therefore the Supreme Court was not the proper venue to try it.

What was he convicted of? A Manhattan jury in late May convicted Trump on 34 criminal charges of business fraud. Jury members found that Trump sought to conceal payments his lawyers made to suppress information about an alleged extramarital affair.

What’s happened since then? Roughly a month later, the U.S. Supreme Court found that current and former presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts. The court decided decades ago that presidents enjoyed immunity from civil lawsuits for their official acts. Trump’s lawyers asked to file a motion just days after the Supreme Court’s ruling asking the Manhattan judge to overturn his conviction. The judge granted that motion and delayed Trump’s sentencing hearing to Sept. 18. Trump’s attorneys argued in a subsequent filing that during the trial the court had admitted into evidence information about official acts that Trump committed while serving as president. His conviction should be thrown out as a result, his lawyers argued.

How did Missouri become involved? Days after the high court’s ruling, Missouri’s attorney general asked the Supreme Court to order New York to delay Trump’s sentencing hearing for his business fraud conviction until after the 2024 election. Missouri also asked the court to dissolve a gag order preventing Trump from criticizing prosecutors, the court, and their staff members. Missouri argued that if New York sentenced Trump before the election, and if the gag order remained in place, it would deprive Missouri voters of the chance to hear from Trump.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report in The Stew about how Republicans are gathering around former President Donald Trump and new party ideals.