NY judge upholds Trump hush money conviction despite Supreme Court's immunity ruling

A New York judge Monday upheld President-elect Donald Trump’s felony conviction for falsifying records to cover up a “hush money” sex scandal, rejecting his claim that a sweeping recent Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity had nullified his Manhattan criminal case.

For now, the ruling by Judge Juan Merchan keeps in place Trump’s criminal conviction, though the former and future president, through a spokesman, immediately vowed to fight it.

If Merchan’s ruling is upheld, Trump will make history on January 20, 2025, as the first criminal felon to occupy the White House and serve as president. The judge's decision shoots down only one of several efforts by Trump to wipe clean his record of the criminal felonies before he returns to the White House on Jan. 20.  

Separately, Trump has asked Judge Juan Merchan to dismiss the entire New York criminal case as a result of his November election victory. Merchan didn't rule on that argument Monday.

In his ruling, Merchan sided with prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office who said that while the U.S. Supreme Court granted presidents wide latitude in having immunity for presidential actions, the activities for which Trump was convicted were unofficial – not official – conduct.