Just over a year after Donald Trump became the first former president to be found guilty of a felony, an appeals court is set to hear the president’s bid to move his case to federal court.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit has scheduled oral arguments Wednesday to consider whether to move the president’s criminal hush money case from state to federal court.
“I did my job, and we did our job,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case, said following Trump’s conviction.
Bragg has pushed back on Trump’s attempt to remove the case from state court, arguing that a case cannot be moved to federal court after sentencing.
If the appeals court grants Trump’s request, his conviction would still remain.
A little more than a year after being convicted of a felony, Donald Trump is attempting to have his case transferred to federal court, and an appeals court will hear his case.
The U. A. In order to decide whether to transfer the president’s criminal hush money case from state to federal court, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has set oral arguments for Wednesday.
Last year, Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts after Manhattan prosecutors claimed that he had paid hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels as part of a “scheme” to increase his chances of winning the 2016 presidential election and then fabricated New York business records to conceal the alleged illegal activity.
The president has broad immunity for his actions and the authority to transfer the case to federal court, according to Trump’s attorneys, who have argued that the conduct at issue in his criminal trial included “official acts” that he carried out while in office. They contend that the Supreme Court’s historic decision to grant the president immunity for official acts last year, rendered subsequent to Trump’s conviction in May, would have barred prosecutors from obtaining their conviction.
The Department of Justice lawyers argued in an amicus brief filed with the court that “the Supreme Court’s landmark decision defining the contours of presidential immunity—including a broad evidentiary immunity prohibiting prosecutors from inviting a jury to probe a President’s official acts, as President Trump’s removal notice alleges occurred here—did not come out until after the conclusion of his state criminal trial.” This, they said, provides good cause for post-trial removal.
Before New York Judge Juan Merchan, on the eve of Trump’s inauguration, sentenced the former president to an unconditional discharge, the lightest punishment permitted by New York state law, claiming it was the “only lawful sentence” to avoid “encroaching upon the highest office in the land.” Trump repeatedly failed to delay his sentencing and denounced the prosecution as politically motivated. “..”.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who initiated the case, stated after Trump’s conviction, “I did my job, and we did our job.”. “There are many voices in the world, but only the jury’s voice counts, and the jury has spoken. “.
Rejecting Trump’s attempt to transfer the case from state court, Bragg has maintained that a case cannot be transferred to federal court following sentencing.
“These arguments ignore statutory indicators that Congress intended for the removal of criminal cases to occur prior to sentencing by anticipating that essential federal proceedings will take place prior to a final criminal judgment,” the prosecution has argued.
Three federal judges, all nominated by Democratic presidents, will hear Trump’s appeal.
Jeffrey Wall, a former Acting Solicitor General of the prestigious law firm Sullivan and Cromwell, will now represent Trump, as his former defense lawyers now hold prominent positions at the Department of Justice. As is customary, attorneys from the Department of Justice submitted an amicus brief in favor of Trump’s request.
According to their argument, “the United States has a strong and direct interest in the issues presented in this appeal.”.
Trump’s conviction would stand even if the appeals court granted his request. His appeal will now be heard in a federal courtroom instead of a state one, which is the only modification. Trump may eventually ask the U.S. S. Supreme Court to step in.
Trump has previously claimed that he would be able to pardon himself for federal offenses while in office, but Bennett Gershman, a professor at Pace University Law School, told ABC News that would not be the case in this instance.
“You’re just talking about where the case is litigated,” Gershman stated, adding that it was still a state crime. “I don’t even know if it’s legal to pardon oneself, but that’s a question that has never been answered. “.”.
