Former President Donald Trump has asked a federal court to intervene in his New York hush money case, seeking to overturn his felony conviction and indefinitely delay his sentencing.
Trump attorney Emil Bove filed the request late Thursday, arguing that the prosecution violated his constitutional rights and contradicted a recent Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. The filing comes as Trump is headed into the final weeks of a heated campaign against opponent Vice President Kamala Harris, who has used her status as a former prosecutor as a campaign talking point against the former president.
The filing contends that moving the case to a federal court would provide an “unbiased forum, free from local hostilities,” highlighting what they describe as “bias, conflicts of interest, and appearances of impropriety” in the state court proceedings, according to the four-page document.
If U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein agrees to take over the case, Trump’s team plans to argue for dismissal based on immunity grounds, citing the Supreme Court’s July 1 decision that limits prosecutions of ex-presidents for official acts.
Friday evening, a message on the federal court docket said Trump’s removal notice had been filed under the “wrong event type” and did not include an “order granting permission to file the pleading” or an order granting of “leave” by the state court, meaning Trump can attempt to submit again beginning Tuesday after the Labor Day Holiday weekend.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told the Washington Examiner the clerk’s message was a “standard procedural move,” adding that “Contrary to the wishes of Radical Liberals, President Trump’s powerful petition to remove the Manhattan DA’s Witch Hunt to federal court has not been ruled on by a judge.”
It’s unclear at this time when the Hellerstein will respond to this matter once defense attorneys amend the submission, and whether the removal effort will ultimately succeed. If not, it means Trump’s hush money case will remain in state court.
The timing of the sentencing, scheduled for Sept. 18, has also raised concerns among Trump’s lawyers, who argue it could interfere with the presidential election. They warn that if Trump is sentenced as planned, it could affect early voting and be seen as election interference.
Trump’s legal team argues that circumstances have changed since its initial attempt to move the case, claiming that state prosecutors misled the court regarding the involvement of Trump’s official duties in the trial. Defense attorneys also allege that testimony from Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen about uses of presidential powers was improperly included as evidence.
Meanwhile, Trump trial Judge Juan Merchan is weighing a separate request by the defense to delay the Sept. 18 sentencing, and his decision could arrive any day.
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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said in a court filing earlier this month that it did not oppose a delay in the sentencing. Merchan has also said he plans to rule on Sept. 16 whether the Supreme Court’s immunity decision should affect the jury’s guilty verdict in May.
Trump’s conviction involved 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. The former president maintains his innocence, arguing the case is a politically motivated “witch hunt.”
