Trump’s Lawyers Seek to Overturn Hush Money Conviction
President Donald Trump’s legal team has filed an appeal with a New York state court, requesting that his hush money conviction be tossed out. The lawyers argue that federal law preempts state law and that there was no intent to commit a crime. This development comes after Trump was convicted in May 2024 of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels.
Background of the Case
The case against Trump centered on his alleged role in concealing a $130,000 payment to Daniels, who claimed to have had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Trump has consistently denied the allegation. The payment was made in the final weeks of Trump’s successful 2016 presidential campaign, and prosecutors argued that Trump mislabeled the payment as a legal fee to conceal its true purpose.
Trump’s lawyers have argued that the prosecution was “the most politically charged prosecution in our Nation’s history” and that the Democrat district attorney in Manhattan “concocted a purported felony by stacking time-barred misdemeanors under a convoluted legal theory.” They also claim that federal law preempts the charges because they rely on an alleged violation of federal campaign regulations that states cannot enforce.
Appeal and Next Steps
The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which prosecuted the case, will have the opportunity to respond to Trump’s appeal in court papers. A message seeking comment was left with the office on Tuesday. The appeal is the latest development in one of four criminal cases against Trump, and it remains to be seen how the court will rule on the matter.
Trump was sentenced in January to an unconditional discharge, which left his conviction on the books but spared him jail, probation, a fine, or other punishment. At his sentencing, Trump called the case a “political witch hunt,” “a weaponization of government,” and “an embarrassment to New York.”
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