MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
President-elect Donald Trump is hoping for one more victory today. It's in his New York criminal trial, where he was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. A judge is set to decide whether Trump is immune from prosecution. NPR's Ximena Bustillo has more.
XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: Trump made history earlier this year by becoming the first sitting or former president to be convicted in a criminal trial. And Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg thanked the jurors.
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ALVIN BRAGG: The 12 everyday jurors vowed to make a decision based on the evidence and the law, and the evidence and the law alone.
BUSTILLO: But closing the loop on this trial has not been easy. Trump has been rescheduled for a sentencing twice, and then the U.S. Supreme Court decided presidents have immunity from prosecution for official acts taken in office. Now Trump's legal team argues that rule applies to evidence in his New York state trial. Will Thomas, assistant professor of business law at the University of Michigan, says the new ruling suggests some evidence needs to be reconsidered.
WILL THOMAS: It's difficult to imagine writing a decision saying that what happened at trial complied with U.S. constitutional law on this issue, in part because the court didn't know what the law was at the time. So how could it possibly comply?
BUSTILLO: Trump's legal team is challenging evidence brought into trial from when he was in the White House, such as social media posts and testimony from employees.
THOMAS: It's important to understand Trump is still very much in his sort of initial trial and conviction stage. Until he's sentenced, this case is still live.
BUSTILLO: New York Judge Juan Merchan is expected to release his decision today that will either open or close the door to a sentencing later this month. Either way, Trump would be unlikely to face prison time. This is his first and a nonviolent criminal offense.
Ximena Bustillo, NPR News, New York. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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