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The judge in Trump's 'hush money' trial is considering overturning his felony conviction

The judge in Trump's 'hush money' trial is considering overturning his felony conviction

The Manhattan judge who oversaw Donald Trump's “hush money” criminal trial is expected to announce next week whether the president-elect's historic felony conviction will stand.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan had already delayed handing down the ruling after the election for more than four months – leaving until next Tuesday to decide whether to overturn the ruling.

Donald Trump sits at the defendant's table in Manhattan Criminal Court during jury deliberations on May 29, 2024. Getty Images

Trump's stunning election victory will further embolden his legal team to “ensure that a conviction never occurs,” Paula Reid, CNN's chief legal affairs correspondent, noted late Wednesday.

“Here they will argue to the judge that the conviction should never occur because Trump is now the president-elect,” Reid noted.

“They will say that he is entitled to the same constitutional protections as a sitting president and that he should be protected from state actors and, in this case, prosecutors.”

Trump, 78, faces up to four years in prison after being convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up payments to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

Judge Juan Merchan is considering overturning Donald Trump's felony convictions following Tuesday's election results. AP
President-elect Donald Trump speaks to supporters alongside his wife Melania at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on November 6, 2024. AP

Legal experts have already predicted that Trump will not have a hard time.

“Merchan does not have the courage to imprison a former president or future president,” said former prosecutor Neama Rahmani.

“Now that Trump has won, his criminal problems are disappearing.”

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